This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.
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Not a good embarking area.
Some
elk wandering through a desolate tundra.
Tundras are very cold, mostly flat biomes, essentially freezing grasslands with nearly no vegetation - unlike glaciers, though, they do not have a layer of ground ice. Rivers do not flow into tundras, and will in fact stop immediately on the tundra border - however, the elevation change will continue as if the river was still there. Any lakes and oceans in the same climatic region are covered in ice, staying frozen year-round or melting only at the peak of summer.
No trees grow in tundras - only three surface crops can tolerate the environment: bilberries, blueberries, and cranberries. Other surface crops will generally not be growable, even in an underground "greenhouse". If you have non-dwarven neighbors, they can still bring surface plant products, but you will be unable to do anything with the resulting seeds, other than cooking or trading them.
Embarking in a site with overlapping biomes may result in a river that only exists outside of the tundra. Such rivers will begin to flow normally when the temperature rises high enough, possibly causing the downstream end (if there is one) to drain off the map completely. Channeling should fix this temporarily (although the river will freeze again eventually).
Fortress construction
If you plan to start a fortress on a tundra, find a cavern as soon as possible. Caverns are vital, as they are the only source of wood other than trading. They also give easy access to water, which you would otherwise need to melt ice for.
Players are advised to empty their wagons, and move all their goods and population underground as soon as possible, because some tundras are cold enough for your dwarves to quickly freeze to death. Likewise, trade depots should also be built underground, and a tunnel to the edge of the map should be made with a road leading to the absolute edge (must be above-ground) and continuing underground to the depot, to encourage merchants to use it and to protect them from said cold.
Wildlife
Creatures
In savage tundras:
In evil tundras:
Vermin
In savage tundras:
In good tundras:
Vegetation
Shrubs
Grasses
In good tundras:
In evil tundras:
