diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 80fb78b..f44e6c6 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -422,6 +422,15 @@ on the Live World clock). **Steps 1–7 of the roadmap are done (plus a derived
   "Alliances" checkbox in Overlays), `&&`-ed into just the ally/rival arc draw calls (3D + 2D) so
   political borders/war fronts still show under Territory regardless — Territory now toggles cleanly
   with or without the arcs. `src/render` only, no save-format change.
+- **Toolbar: a direct one-click "Biome view" shortcut** *(done)* — during Tectonics/Hydrology (before
+  any Civilization & Ecology feature is even relevant) the only way to see the world's actual terrain
+  type (deserts/forests/tundra/etc., colour mode `Biome`) was to open the 13-entry View Mode dropdown
+  and pick it out, or reach it as an accidental side effect of toggling `Ecoregions (E)` off (its
+  toggle lands on `Biome` specifically). Added a **"Biome view (5)"** toggle-styled button directly
+  under the dropdown — outside the scrollable body, so it's visible immediately without scrolling —
+  that just sets `mode = ColorMode::Biome` (matching the plain `5` key, no side effects, works from
+  the very start of World Creation). Purely additive; the dropdown entry and `5` key are unchanged.
+  `src/render` only (`Toolbar.cpp`), no save-format change.
 
 ## Current state
 
diff --git a/src/render/Toolbar.cpp b/src/render/Toolbar.cpp
index 17cfd4f..4ac17d1 100644
--- a/src/render/Toolbar.cpp
+++ b/src/render/Toolbar.cpp
@@ -107,6 +107,18 @@ void drawToolbar(Viewer& v) {
     float x = panel.x + PAD, w = panel.width - 2 * PAD;
     float y = panel.y + PAD;
     Rectangle dropRect = takeRow(x, w, y, 24.0f);   // reserved now, drawn LAST so its open list is on top
+    // Direct one-click shortcut to the Biome view (color mode 5) -- the single view that actually
+    // shows terrain type (deserts/forests/tundra/etc.), which is otherwise only reachable by opening
+    // the dropdown above and picking it out of 13 entries, or as an accidental side effect of
+    // toggling Ecoregions off (that lands on Biome too). Kept outside the scroll body, right under
+    // the dropdown, so it's visible immediately -- including during Tectonics/Hydrology, before any
+    // Civilization & Ecology button is even enabled.
+    {
+        bool isBiome = v.mode == ColorMode::Biome;
+        bool shadow = isBiome;
+        GuiToggle(takeRow(x, w, y), "Biome view (5)", &shadow);
+        if (shadow != isBiome) { v.mode = ColorMode::Biome; v.recolor(); }
+    }
     y += SECTION_GAP * 0.5f;
 
     Rectangle scrollBounds{ panel.x, y, panel.width, (panel.y + panel.height) - y };