Location from Fallout by Interplay / Bethesda
The vault that started it all — when the water chip broke, one dweller was sent into the unknown, and the Fallout saga began with a closing door and a terrified step forward.
There's a mustiness to Vault 13 that speaks of truly old air — recycled thousands of times through filters that are themselves ancient. Dripping water echoes from somewhere deep in the cave system, a sound that became agonizingly relevant when the water chip failed. The corridors are narrower than newer vaults, the ceilings lower. Generations of residents carved small marks into their doorframes — height measurements, dates, names. Later, after the vault emptied, deathclaws moved into the lower levels and their territorial scratching joined the sound of dripping water. The Overseer's office still has the map where one resident's exile route was marked.
Nestled in a cave system in the mountains of Southern California, the vault entrance is concealed by rocky terrain and scrub. Inside, it follows standard Vault-Tec design but feels older and more worn than later vaults — the paint is faded, the pipes are patched multiple times over, and the water recycling system visibly strains. The command center is spartan. Storage rooms have been picked clean over generations. The iconic vault door sits at the end of a natural cave, its gear-tooth frame scratched by centuries of micro-seismic activity.
Also known as: Vault 13, The Water Chip Vault, The Original Vault