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> All pumped storage requires is a big high spot and a big low spot

I think that's what the GP meant by "extremely geographically dependent." Finding a 1,000 ft height difference (using the Gordon Butte Project as an example) between reservoirs will be really challenging in huge swaths of the United States and elsewhere.

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There are many possibilities globally. 1000 feet is not needed.

https://re100.eng.anu.edu.au/global/

It also needs to be near a natural source of water, near population centres and is preferably not a pretty national park.

Doesn't need to be near population center. The majority of the energy I've used in my life comes from a dam over a thousand kilometres from where I live.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bay_Project

Dinorwig power station [0] is in the middle of a national park. A pretty one, even.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station

Yes, and add you can see it's already been developed - for over 60 years. That's not to say more can't be developed, but the rate of new development has been pretty low, and the prevailing belief was that this was the result of all of the best resources being used up.

...and even then they built it mostly inside the mountain, next to an old slate quarry. Which is going to help national park acceptability but not the unit cost of construction I suspect.

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