Volcanic Soil (Civ6)

Volcanic Soil
Introduced in Gathering Storm
Modifies
Grassland
Grassland
Grassland (Hills)
Grassland (Hills)
Plains
Plains
Plains (Hills)
Plains (Hills)
Desert
Desert
Desert (Hills)
Desert (Hills)
Tundra
Tundra
Tundra (Hills)
Tundra (Hills)
Snow
Snow
Snow (Hills)
Snow (Hills)
Improvements
Farm
Farm
Mine
Mine

Back to Terrain features

Volcanic Soil is a terrain feature in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It is found on land tiles near Volcanoes that have erupted.

• Yields: Same as base terrain; may get additional Food, Production, Science and Culture with Volcanic eruptions.
• +2 Faith with Fire Goddess Pantheon
• Additional features:
  • May receive both the Farm and the Mine improvements, as well as any special improvements if there are resources present.

Strategy

Volcanic Soil is a very interesting addition to the game. It practically alters the quality of any nearby non-mountainous terrain so that it can accept both Farms and Mines. This does not seem like much until you realize the huge versatility it gives to tiles. Granted, Farms may be constructed on every flat tile (and later in the game also on Hills), but being able to build Mines on flat land will help improve a city's Production potential. Besides, if the Volcanic Soil happens to hit a "barren" sort of terrain such as Desert or Tundra, which normally cannot be improved, this terrain instantly turns into "normal" terrain with the added qualities of the special volcanic yields!

Because of the benefits of Volcanic Soil (and dangers caused by possible Eruptions), you should cherish your tiles next to Volcanoes and refrain from placing Districts and wonders there. As the game progresses, these tiles will gradually become so rich in yields as to eclipse potentially any other tile type, and you can always "flip" them to provide more Food or Production if you need it at the moment.

Civilopedia entry

Volcanic ejecta is rich in minerals, and thus over time creates a rich soil with excellent drainage, ideal for cultivating certain kinds of crops. For example, grapes grown for wine flourish in volcanic soil, as attested by the Romans planting vineyards on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. Coffee, too, does particularly well when grown in volcanic soil. Eruptions refresh the supply of volcanic soil on a volcano, although this usually has negative effects on agriculture during the eruption.

Gallery

Volcanic Soil in the tiles around an erupting Volcano