Desert

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v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

A red sand desert blending into a rocky wasteland.

A desert in the real world.

A desert is a very dry biome, with little to no rainfall each year. Deserts can be found in almost all climates except the most extreme cold regions. They are always arid, so cold deserts may only have flowing water for a few months of the year, and warm deserts might have rivers that evaporate during the summer months. The desert temperature is mostly on the far ranges of warm or cold, and can reach scorching or freezing temperatures in certain regions. Variable heat loss is not a feature in biomes, so very hot deserts will remain warm/hot in the night with only a small decrease in temperature.

Very few trees and plants are able to grow in these barren lands. There is a surprisingly decent amount of creatures however. Camels, for example, are very common to this kind of biome and provide an excellent food source (whether one or two humps). Breaching caverns for resources that deserts lack can make building a fortress a whole lot easier.

Types of deserts

There are three types of deserts: badlands, rocky wastelands, and sand deserts. The key characteristic of deserts is that they form in very low rainfall.

Badlands have soil but very little rainfall, and so have very little to offer in the way of plant life, both shrubs and trees. They are mostly hot or cold, but can also have another climate. Badlands form in areas with high drainage.

Rocky wastelands are arid, barren areas rich in stone. It may be difficult to find soil or an aboveground water source. Additionally, trees and other plant life are usually scarce at best in these areas. Thus, trees should be grown in subterranean tree farms. For pasture, the top layer of dirt can simply be channeled through, grass will grow in the resulting pit. Wastelands form in areas with medium drainage.

Sand deserts are large and dry areas of sand. They can be difficult for a beginning player to found a fortress in, due to the fact that there are usually few trees and plants to be found, and it may require digging several Z-layers deep before any stone is found. However, similar to rocky wastelands, areas of the map can be channeled out for grass growth. The new grass tiles will even allow tree growth, with enough time. Deserts form in areas with low drainage.

Wildlife

All desert creatures and vermin can appear in any type of desert.

Creatures

Name
b Barn owl
b Bobcat
b Buzzard
c Coyote
t Desert tortoise
d Dingo
e Eagle
e Echidna
g Gila monster
l Gray langur
o Great horned owl
b Honey badger
i Ibex
J Jaguar
K Kangaroo
k Kingsnake
l Leopard
C One-humped camel
O Ostrich
p Peregrine falcon
p Porcupine
s Rattlesnake
r Raven
C Two-humped camel
v Vulture
w Weasel

In savage deserts:

Name
s Bark scorpion man
b Barn owl man
b Bat man
b Beetle man
b Bobcat man
b Buzzard man
c Chameleon man
c Cockatiel man
c Coyote man
t Desert tortoise man
d Dingo man
e Eagle man
e Echidna man
f Firefly man
f Fly man
S Giant bark scorpion
B Giant barn owl
B Giant bat
B Giant beetle
B Giant bobcat
B Giant buzzard
C Giant chameleon
C Giant cockatiel
C Giant coyote
S Giant desert scorpion1
T Giant desert tortoise
D Giant dingo
E Giant eagle
E Giant echidna
F Giant firefly
F Giant fly
G Giant gila monster
G Giant grasshopper
L Giant gray langur
O Giant great horned owl
H Giant hamster
B Giant honey badger
I Giant ibex
J Giant jaguar
J Giant jumping spider
K Giant kangaroo
K Giant kingsnake
L Giant leopard
G Giant leopard gecko
L Giant lizard
L Giant louse
M Giant mantis
M Giant monarch butterfly
M Giant mosquito
M Giant moth
C Giant one-humped camel
O Giant ostrich
P Giant peregrine falcon
P Giant porcupine
R Giant rat
S Giant rattlesnake
R Giant raven
R Giant roach
S Giant skink
S Giant slug
S Giant snail
S Giant sparrow
T Giant thrips
T Giant tick
C Giant two-humped camel
V Giant vulture
W Giant weasel
W Giant wren
g Gila monster man
l Gray langur man
g Grasshopper man
o Great horned owl man
h Hamster man
b Honey badger man
i Ibex man
J Jaguar man
j Jumping spider man
K Kangaroo man
k Kingsnake man
l Leopard man
g Leopard gecko man
l Lizard man
l Louse man
m Mantis man
m Monarch butterfly man
m Mosquito man
m Moth man
C One-humped camel man
O Ostrich man
p Peregrine falcon man
p Porcupine man
r Rat man
s Rattlesnake man
r Raven man
r Roach man
s Skink man
s Slug man
s Snail man
s Sparrow man
t Thrips man
t Tick man
C Two-humped camel man
v Vulture man
w Weasel man
w Wren man

¹ No longer appears since v0.42.04

In evil deserts:

Name
N Nightwing

Vermin

Name
· Ant
∙ Bark scorpion
∙ Bat
· Beetle
· Bumblebee
∙ Chameleon
∙ Cockatiel
∙ Firefly
· Fly
· Grasshopper
∙ Hamster
· Honey bee
· Jumping spider
∙ Large roach
∙ Leopard gecko
∙ Lizard
· Louse
· Mantis
∙ Monarch butterfly
· Mosquito
∙ Moth
∙ Rat
∙ Skink
~ Slug
∙ Snail
∙ Sparrow
· Termite
· Thrips
· Tick
∙ Wren

In savage deserts:

Name
∙ Two-legged rhino lizard

In good deserts:

Name
∙ Fairy
∙ Fluffy wambler
· Pixie

In evil deserts:

Name
∙ Demon rat
~ Knuckle worm

Vegetation

All desert plants can appear in any type of deserts.

Shrubs

Name
" Alfalfa
" Barley
" Blade weed
" Caper
" Fisher berry
" Hide root
" Lentil
" Longland grass
" Potato
" Prickle berry
" Rat weed
" Red spinach
" Rope reed
" Rye
" Strawberry

In savage deserts:

Name
" Whip vine

In good deserts:

Name
" Sun berry

In evil deserts:

Name
" Sliver barb

Trees

Name
╞ Saguaro

In savage deserts:

Name
¶ Highwood

In good deserts:

Name
♣ Feather tree

In evil deserts:

Name
┤ Glumprong

Grasses

Name
. Baby toes succulent
. Needle grass
. Pebble plant

In good deserts:

Name
O Bubble bulb
. Downy grass

In evil deserts:

Name
O Staring eyeball
≥ Wormy tendril

"Desert" in other Languages Dwarven: zareth Elven: avetho Goblin: slosno Human: asto

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