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[Knick]

Hokay.

I have embarked in a mountain/forest binome.  Unusally, it is completely flat--there are no hills whatsoever.  It is also quite cold--the river freezes and stays frozen for large portion of the year.  I am assuming I have embarked on a sort of plateau that becomes snow covered.  I have a few questions.

1.  I would like to set up an aquaduct to start a few surface farms.  I note that freezing water will deconstruct mechanisms/buildings.  If I build a screwpump over a river, and ensure that it does not run during the freezing period, will it still deconstruct?

2.  Will animals still forage for food if the pasture is snowed under?

[Owlbread]

-I am incorrect-

[AutomataKittay]

You could build a sort of house for the river to prevent it from freezing totally, that would prevent your screwpump from deconstructin, though I imagine it would freeze at the ends so you wouldn't have running water all year round.

Doesn't works, if it's got lit up tiles, then it will freeze if it's within the biome area. Only way to stop it is to have water in the dark tiles. Can be checked by 'k' ing over it.

Though for OP's purpose, as long as the screwpump's pumping end aren't in water, it should stand just fine. I've not had any pumps freeze and break as long as it's on solid ground and aren't wetted at end where dwarf stands to pumps, even when dwarves are pumping at it.

[ORCACommander]

1. best solution is make cistern under ground that feeds and exits into the river. the cister will not freeze there.

2. animals do not care about snow

3. i do not believe the above ground farms will work in such a climate.

[AutomataKittay]

3. i do not believe the above ground farms will work in such a climate.

Above ground farming only fails in mountain biome and maybe ocean biome ( Might be missing one or two other oddball biomes ). But since there're forest biome, it should work in there ( aboveground won't work in moutain biome, even muddied, IIRC, underground works everywhere ). Weather doesn't seem to have much of an impact, yet.

[smjjames]

3. i do not believe the above ground farms will work in such a climate.

Above ground farming only fails in mountain biome and maybe ocean biome ( Might be missing one or two other oddball biomes ). But since there're forest biome, it should work in there ( aboveground won't work in moutain biome, even muddied, IIRC, underground works everywhere ). Weather doesn't seem to have much of an impact, yet.

Wiki also says freezing biomes, which is logical. Farms should still work in cold biomes despite the fact that growing seasons would be different from warmer climates. You could make a greenhouse of some kind if you're worried about the cold, though I don't think it'll make any difference.

As for the aqueduct, you don't need to irrigate crops, but you do want an available source of water when the river freezes over.

[AutomataKittay]

3. i do not believe the above ground farms will work in such a climate.

Above ground farming only fails in mountain biome and maybe ocean biome ( Might be missing one or two other oddball biomes ). But since there're forest biome, it should work in there ( aboveground won't work in moutain biome, even muddied, IIRC, underground works everywhere ). Weather doesn't seem to have much of an impact, yet.

Wiki also says freezing biomes, which is logical. Farms should still work in cold biomes despite the fact that growing seasons would be different from warmer climates. You could make a greenhouse of some kind if you're worried about the cold, though I don't think it'll make any difference.

As for the aqueduct, you don't need to irrigate crops, but you do want an available source of water when the river freezes over.

Ah, yes I forget tundra and glacier! Can't aboveground farm there either.

Those and the mountains are listed as freezing biomes, it's not actual freezing weather that does it.

[Obsidian Soul]

I made a rather nifty underground river once in a cold mountain climate. I dug a branch from the river 2 z-layers beneath the river itself. Quite large. It takes in water from the river above, flows into a channel inside a room underground and exits to a waterfall on a cliff outside that drains back into the surface river (you can also drain it to an underground edge tile). The room itself is where I fish, have wells, etc. Floodgates and wall grates are provided on both ends, and most of the length of my indoor river is covered over with floor grates so my dwarves don't accidentally fall in and get swept out to the waterfall.

During the warm season, both floodgates are opened so my "indoor river" is always flowing. During winter, I close both floodgates, trapping the water inside. So I have liquid water even when the surface river is frozen. Though the water levels go down over time with usage, the size of the indoor river itself means that I have more than enough water for my wells to remain functional. And I can replenish again when the thaw comes.

The water doesn't freeze because it's undergound with natural roofs. And it has the added advantage of having a safe fishing area. I can also design it in such a way that I also have nice waterfalls to clean my dwarves and keep them happy.

With this you can have a reservoir to irrigate some rooms (with artificial roofs) and you can farm surface crops indoors even in winter. Make sure you can grow crops though. From experience, you can't grow surface crops in mountain biomes.

Detailed engineering schematics below: 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)