Natural wonder (Civ5)

Back to game concepts

Back to the list of terrain features

Natural wonders are unique terrain features, masterpieces of Mother Nature, which possess exceptional qualities that make them very different from the average terrain. They inspire awe in any civilization that finds them and provide various benefits to whoever controls them (that is, includes them in his or her empire's territory and works their tiles). These benefits take the form of various yield bonuses, including Culture, Science, and Faith, which aren't normally available on land tiles. Most of their bonuses apply only if they are worked by a city, and they only apply to that particular city; some bonuses, however, apply empire-wide, or to any unit that comes close to them (even if it doesn't belong to the civilization that controls the wonder).

Natural wonders provide a permanent boost to your empire-wide Happiness when discovered. Some of them also provide an additional boost when inside a territory.

Natural wonders are impassable, and cannot be improved in any way. They are created and placed automatically at the beginning of the game. There are a limited number of natural wonders to discover on each map, determined by the map's size.

Whilst playing on a huge Earth-type map, natural wonders are placed approximately in their real-world locations, making them much easier to find. (For example, the Great Barrier Reef is always off the northeast coast of Australia if it spawns.)

The Spanish civilization has a unique ability that greatly increases the benefits of discovering and working natural wonders.

Name	Yield	Notes
Barringer Crater	2 3	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.?
Grand Mesa	2 3	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.?
Great Barrier Reef	2 1 1 2	Comes as a pair of tiles.
Krakatoa	5	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.?
Mt. Fuji	Vanilla: 1 5	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
	/: 2 3 3
Old Faithful	2 3	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
Rock of Gibraltar	2 5
Cerro de Potosi (DLC)	10	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
El Dorado (DLC)	5	500 Gold to the first civilization to discover it
Fountain of Youth (DLC)	10	Adjacent military land units heal at double rate for the rest of the game
Mt. Kailash	6 2	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
Mt. Sinai	8	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
Sri Pada	2 4 2	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
Uluru	2 6	May build Observatory in adjacent cities.
King Solomon's Mines	6
Lake Victoria	6
Mt. Kilimanjaro	3 2	Adjacent military land units move at double speed through Hills and receive a combat bonus on Hills for the rest of the game May build Observatory in adjacent cities.

Valid only in the Gods & Kings expansion pack.

Valid only in the Brave New World expansion pack.

See also

• Natural wonders in all Civilization games