Locations and setting

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes place within the fictional state San Andreas. It is based on sections of California and Nevada, comprising three major fictional cities: Los Santos and the badlands correspond to real-life Los Angeles and the California badlands; San Fierro corresponds to real-life San Francisco; and Las Venturas and the surrounding desert corresponds to real-life Las Vegas and the Nevada desert. Players can climb the a half-mile (800 m) tall Mount Chiliad (based on Mount Diablo), parachute from various peaks and skyscrapers, and visit 12 rural towns and villages located in three counties: Red County, Flint County, and Bone County. Other notable destinations include Sherman dam (based on the Hoover Dam), a large secret military base called Area 69 (based on Area 51), a microwave dish, and many other geographical features. Previous Grand Theft Auto titles are set in a single city, whereas the events of San Andreas span the entire state. San Andreas is approximately 17 square miles (44 square kilometers), almost four times as large as Vice City, and five times as large as Liberty City.