Prime/Bonus resource squares

[CarnTheRoys!]

For the prime/bonus resource squares on the map (ie: where the little icon for tobacco, wheat, cotton, sugar, silver, timber, ore, etc.), is there any particular pattern for where these occur?

In Civ2 it is pretty obvious that each map has its own pattern as to where the prime or "bonus" squares are located, but it would seem that there is no such pattern with Colonization, and that it is largely randomised.

It was always great when you could land a location that had timber, and then perhaps a couple of other prime squares nearby as well.

 

[MXB]

No pattern that I've been able to recognize. Civ (1) of course had the famous Chess Knight move pattern or I guess you could call it a windmill or hooked cross pattern also. My name for the square where you could build a city and get all 4 specials was "Power Point".
Would be nice to be able to predict which forests when chopped produce prime tobacco/sugar/cotton but alas it seems to be completely random. I think the only pattern may be that no specials are adjacent in COL. If correct that might help a little.