Waterfalls

Waterfalls is a playable map in Timberborn first introduced at Early Access launch and updated in later patches (notably Update 5, which added the Badwater variant). The map is represented in the game gallery with icon and overhead images showing waterfall terrain. As a map named for abundant falling water, it interacts with the game's water mechanics: irrigation, storage, evaporation and liquid handling via tanks.

Water on the map functions as the standard liquid resource used to satisfy Thirst and for certain production chains. A full non-flowing block of water supplies 5 units of drinkable water. Water units have mass when stored (2 kg per unit) and can be stored in purpose-built water tanks or as natural reservoirs created with dams, levees and terraforming. Tanks store drinkable water inside districts without suffering evaporation; natural reservoirs can hold much larger volumes but are exposed to the environment.

Irrigation from waterfalls and any water source follows the same distance and height rules used elsewhere in the game. A watered block is any block in direct contact with water (either beneath it or touching a side). From a watered block, soil at the same height is irrigated up to 15 blocks in any horizontal direction. Each difference in height from the watered block reduces that range: being on top of the watered block reduces the irrigated distance by 6; other vertical separations reduce it by 7 per level. The first block after the watered block may be any height below the watered block without further reducing the irrigation range. These rules determine how far crops, trees and vine growth receive irrigation from waterfall-fed pools and channels.

Evaporation affects open-water reservoirs on the map. Water has a constant evaporation rate of 0.045 meters per day applied to the top level of a tile, so a full, non-flowing block of water left exposed will evaporate in just over 22 days if no pumps refill it. For reservoir design on waterfall maps, choosing depth over surface area reduces relative losses due to evaporation because evaporation is calculated only on the top level.

Water storage and logistics use the tank system. Tanks come in sizes and capacities and store potable water directly for beavers and production. For reference, a small tank holds 30 units (equivalent to six full water blocks), a medium tank holds 300 units (60 full water blocks), and larger tanks hold 1,200 units; tanks do not evaporate. Each beaver consumes about 2–3 units of water per day, so tank sizing and reservoir planning are critical on maps with heavy water use.

Practical notes:

• Place tanks inside districts to secure drinkable water and eliminate evaporation losses from stored reserves.
• Use waterfall-fed pools and levees to create deep reservoirs rather than shallow lakes to minimize evaporation impact.
• When laying irrigation channels or farmland below waterfalls, calculate irrigated range from the watered block height: same-height soil gets up to 15 blocks of irrigation range; each vertical step reduces range by 6–7 blocks as applicable.
• Monitor beaver daily water needs (roughly 2–3 units each) when sizing tanks and reservoirs; a single full water block equals 5 units.
• Remember pumps and flow control when maintaining open reservoirs to counteract the steady evaporation rate.