Ornament Valley

Ornament Valley
Greater location	Carburetor County, Arizona, United States
Postcard
Location within Carburetor County

Ornament Valley is a location in the Disney/Pixar Cars franchise, one of the main district in Carburetor County and the greater location of Radiator Springs, which billed itself as the "Gateway to Ornament Valley". Ornament Valley is near Radiator Springs on the way to Interstate 40 on Route 66.

Featuring a number of natural wonders it once served as a lure for travelers on Route 66, however, construction of the interstate bypassed much of the area and the town, and it faded into obscurity. However, when Sally stumbled into Radiator Springs, the beauty of Ornament Valley convinced her to stay. When Lightning McQueen made Radiator Springs his headquarters, more visitors to Ornament Valley came as a result.

History

As described in National Parks-style signage at Cars Land:

How was it formed?

These magnificent buttes, pinnacles and tailfins represent sedimentary layers of soft red shale, sandstone and limestone exposed by millions of years of wind, rain and black ice erosion. Other contributors to the ornament formations are the combined forces of the Radiator River and the Lincoln Continental Drift. Most of the rocks are from the Automozoic Period, recording events that took place on the North American continent long before the first wheel ever roamed the earth. The stunning colors of this landscape are created as iron and other materials stain the steep rock wall surfaces, caves and wheel wells.

Film and videogames

Among the growing of Radiator Springs, the valley used to have gas fields as well gasolineral activity. A railway would cross the valley (with a similar rail crossing used by the South Jersey Transportation Authority), and its route part had 2 gas stations. The valley was also where the town's demolition derby stadium was built.

With the construction of the Interstate 40, the valley's activity went down among the town, and its farms, gas fields, gas stations and the railway got abandoned as well.

After the town's resuscitate because of Lightning McQueen's stay, the valley's activity went slowly regrowing little by little. By 2007 with the town's International Championship (or Cars: Mater-National Championship) the valley was finally up to growth. There was built an international airport, trailer parks and a gas station was re-opened; even a diamond mine was settle.

In all three Cars video games, Ornament Valley is described as a place east of Radiator Springs. However, it was referred to as the entire area of Radiator Springs, Ornament Valley, and Tailfin Pass a few times.

Ornament Valley was gonna be a map in The World of Cars Online called "Ornament Valley Alley" the place is mostly shown in the beta with some removed items still present in the files, it looked like an empty and very large space, probably discarded because lacks of functionality.

In Cars: The Videogame, the place of Ornament Valley is unlocked when you win Sheriff's Chase, which is also the first race that goes into Ornament Valley.

In Chapter 3, two major races happen in Ornament Valley, Rustbucket Race-O-Rama and Ornament Valley Circuit. Rustbucket Race-O-Rama is a race in the Rustbucket Stadium, raced as Mater. When you win the race, Mater will win a boost tank, which he gives to Lightning as a present. In Ornament Valley Circuit, four New York cars, named Vince, Barry, Lenny, and Sonny; challenge Lightning to a race.

Lightning visits Ornament Valley again in Chapter 4. He gets monster truck tires and races three monster trucks, named Count Spatula, The Crippler, and Ginormous; at the Rustbucket Stadium. After the race, he gets his monster truck tires taken off and goes to the gas station, where he meets Vince, Barry, and Sonny again. Soon, Chick arrives and challenges all four to a race.

After that race, Lightning goes back to Radiator Springs to see Mack, but he wasn't there, so he goes back to Ornament Valley and asks Sheriff about Mack. Sheriff says that Mack called him, saying he was driving west along Interstate 40 and got robbed by the Delinquent Road Hazards.

In Chapter 5, after the races in Radiator Springs and Tailfin Pass, came the Ornament Valley Grand Prix. It is the only out of the 3 races in the Radiator Springs Grand Prix that peaks into another location.

In Cars: Mater-National Championship, Ornament Valley is unlocked when you win Stadium Race 1. The Rustbucket Stadium is still there, but there are 4 Rustbucket Races instead of just 1. Mater meets Emma right before the first race, and then they get to know each other and race each other in the 4th race. After that race, Mater gives Emma a tour.

The location also has 3 Road Races. The third one introduces Gudmund (however, he previously appeared in Relay Race 2).

In Cars: Race-O-Rama, Ornament Valley gets already unlocked when you unlocked Radiator Springs by winning Hudson Student Run, and you don't need to wait for it to load to get there.

Ornament Valley is where Mater and Bubba had their fight for the Radiator Springs towing rights, which Bubba eventually lost.

Ornament Valley has a Circuit race called Off-Road Race 1. It also has parts of the 3rd and 4th Point to Point races, except on the PlayStation 2. There is also Guido Kart 6, Auto Cross 4, Transporter 3, and Photo Op 6. The races at the Rustbucket Stadium include 4 races: Smash Up 1, Smash Up 2, Smash Up 3, Bubba's Bucket Bash; 2 Monster Truck Races: Monster Truck Mayhem 1 and Monster Truck Mayhem 2; and Guido Kart 2.

Places in Ornament Valley

These are all the places in the Ornament Valley, to see the rest check Carburetor County.

Radiator Springs, the town's Speedway, Willy's Butte, Stanley's Oasis, Carburetor Canyon, Bulldozer Pasture, Tractor Pasture, Fillmore's Fields, Triplet Arrows, RV Park, Pitt Stop Gasoline, Rustbucket Stadium, World's Largest Ball of Fan Belts and the majority of the Caverns Tour area. Notable sub-zones include Tail Light Caverns, Lost Cap Cave, and Cars Bad Caverns. "Double Clutch Gulch" extends beyond Ornament Valley and Cadillac Range but remains within the Carburetor County zone.

Gallery

• 

  The Gateway

• 

  The entrance

• 

  An aerial viewpoint of the valley

• Cars 2

  Cars 2

• 

  Cars 3

• 

  A deserted place with a few cactus and plants

• 

  The entrance

• 

  Concept

Trivia

• The valley appears different from what it was from Cars: The Videogame (the first Cars video game) to Cars: Mater-National Championship (the second one). But in Cars: Race-O-Rama (the third one), the whole valley appears exactly the same as in the first video game.
• The Ornament Valley is a parody of and a reference to the Monument Valley, which is located in the same area of the Ornament Valley.
• The mountains are shaped like old Cadillacs' hoods.

Names in other languages

• Russian: Клаксоновая долина, Украшенная долина, Klaxon Valley
• Spanish: Valle Insignia

	This article is part of Project 66, a PCW project that aims to document the history and geography of Route 66 as it relates to the world of Cars.
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