Biome
A biome is a region in a world with distinct geographical features, plants, temperatures, humidity levels, water colors, grass colors, and foliage colors. Biomes separate every generated world into different environments, such as forests, deserts, and oceans.
The biome of a location is determined during world generation rather than by the current environment, even if all blocks in a large area are altered to imitate the terrain of other biomes. In Java Edition, the /fillbiome command can be used to change the biome in a selected area. Existing biomes can be located with the /locate biome command.
List of biomes
Biome types
In Java Edition, there are 65 different biome types: 54 for the Overworld, 5 for the Nether, and 5 for the End, plus one used only for a superflat preset. In Bedrock Edition, there are 87 biome types: 54 for the Overworld, 5 for the Nether, 1 for the End, and 27 unused.
On this page, for convenience of description and reading, the biomes in Overworld are divided into 8 categories, which are not official. Biomes in each category may be further divided into some sub-categories.
Overworld
Non-land biomes
These biomes are used for the generation of oceans and mushroom fields. They are large, open biomes made entirely of water going up to y=63, with underwater relief on the sea floor, such as small mountains and plains, usually including gravel, dirt, and sand. Squids and fish spawn frequently in the water, and dolphins spawn in non-frozen oceans.
These biomes are further divided into three categories: oceans, deep oceans, and mushroom fields.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean |
The basic ocean biome. Like its colder variants, its floor is largely made up of gravel; however patches of dirt, sand and clay can also appear. Seagrass, kelp, cod and salmon[Bedrock Edition only] can spawn here. |
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| Deep ocean |
A variant of the ocean biome. In deep ocean biomes, the ocean can exceed 30 blocks in depth, making it twice as deep as the normal ocean. The ground is mainly covered with gravel. Ocean monuments generate in deep oceans, meaning guardians, elder guardians, prismarine and sponges can spawn here. |
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| Warm ocean |
A variant of the ocean biome, with light teal water at the surface. Like the lukewarm ocean, it has a floor made of sand and like all oceans, it is populated with seagrass. Pufferfish and tropical fish spawn here. Unlike other ocean biomes, warm oceans allow for the generation of coral reefs and sea pickles. Kelp cannot spawn here. It is the only ocean biome that does not have a deep equivalent. |
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| Lukewarm ocean |
A variant of the ocean biome, with light blue water at the surface. Its floor is made of sand with the occasional patch of dirt or clay. Kelp and seagrass spawn here. Unlike the warm ocean biome, cod and salmon[BE only] can spawn here, together with pufferfish[JE only] and tropical fish. Coral cannot spawn here. |
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| Deep lukewarm ocean |
Similar to the lukewarm ocean biome, but twice as deep. Because they are a deep ocean variant, they can generate ocean monuments, resulting in the spawning of guardians, elder guardians, prismarine and sponges. |
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| Cold ocean |
A variant of the ocean biome, with dark blue water at the surface. Like regular oceans and frozen oceans, its floor is made up of gravel, though occasional patches of dirt can be found. Salmon can spawn in cold ocean biomes. |
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| Deep cold ocean |
Similar to the cold ocean biome, but twice as deep. Like other deep oceans, ocean monuments can generate here, which contain guardians, elder guardians, prismarine and sponges. |
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| Frozen ocean |
A variant of the ocean biome with dark indigo water at the surface. Like the cold ocean, it has a gravel seabed and squids swimming about. However, the water's surface is frequently broken up by patches of ice and large icebergs, consisting of packed ice and blue ice, and occasionally topped with snow blocks. Strays and polar bears can spawn here, but dolphins can't. |
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| Deep frozen ocean |
Like the frozen ocean biome, the only fishes that spawn here are salmon and cod[BE only], and the floor consists of gravel. The frozen deep ocean biome also contains ocean monuments and a deeper floor than normal oceans, like other deep oceans. Frequent floating icebergs with blue ice generate here. Polar bears, rabbits and strays can also spawn here, but dolphins can't. |
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| Mushroom fields |
This rare biome consists of a mostly flat island and has mycelium instead of grass as its surface. Mushroom fields are always adjacent to a deep ocean and are isolated from other biomes, and they are typically a few hundred blocks wide. It is one of the few biomes where huge mushrooms can generate naturally, and where mushrooms can grow in full sunlight. No mobs other than mooshrooms, bats[Java Edition only], and glow squids spawn naturally in this biome, including the usual night-time hostile mobs. This also applies to caves, mineshafts and other dark structures, meaning exploring underground is safe. However, monster spawners still spawn mobs, wandering traders along with their llamas can spawn, raids can still spawn illagers, the player can still breed animals and spawn mobs using spawn eggs and insomnia still attracts phantoms. |
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Highland biomes
Highland biomes are biomes with a higher Y-level. Rugged terrain and snow-covered peaks appear above the snow line.
These biomes are further divided into two categories: mountains and windswept hills.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Jagged peaks |
One of the three biomes that generate in the peaks of a mountain. This biome is found in taller and more jagged and pointy peaks that often pass the clouds and can peak at y=256. It is covered by a single layer of snow blocks with stone underneath often exposing ores such as coal, iron and emerald, and just like the snowy slopes, stone cliffs can generate in some sides of the mountain. Only goats spawn in this biome. |
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| Frozen peaks |
The frozen peaks are covered by snow blocks and packed ice with occasional small blobs of ice. Only goats can spawn in this biome. This biome usually generates in smoother and less jagged mountains compared to the jagged peaks biome. |
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| Stony peaks |
The stony peaks are a warmer variation of peak biomes that generates in warmer regions to avoid temperature clashes. It is mainly covered by stone with large strips of calcite and exposed ores. No passive mobs spawn here and there's no snow in this biome. |
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| Meadow |
The meadow is an elevated grassy biome found in plateaus near mountain ranges. It is filled with patches of flowers and turquoise-green short grass and tall grass. All small flowers generate except blue orchids, tulips, lilies of the valley or wither roses. Rarely, a lone oak or birch tree can generate and always has a bee nest. Both pillager outposts and plains villages can generate in this biome. Sheep, donkeys and rabbits are the only passive mobs that spawn in this biome. |
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| Cherry grove |
Cherry groves are grasslands with a lot of short grass, tall grass and, instead of the traditional dandelions and poppies flowers, there are pink petals. The main environmental feature of the cherry grove are cherry trees identified by their striking pink color. Their leaves drop petal particles. The cherry trees may generate densely enough to create a cover of leaves. |
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| Grove |
The grove creates a forest of spruce trees beneath the mountain peaks when near a forested biome. It is quite reminiscent of the snowy taiga, but the surface is covered with snow blocks and powder snow instead of grass blocks. Rabbits, wolves and foxes can spawn in this biome. |
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| Snowy slopes |
The snowy slopes generate beneath the mountain peaks and are covered with multiple layers of snow blocks and powder snow, with some sides also having stone cliffs. Goats spawn in this biome alongside rabbits. This is the only mountain biome where igloos can generate, making it one of the three biomes where igloos naturally generate. |
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| Windswept hills |
A highland biome with some steep hilltops. Cliffs, peaks, valleys, waterfalls, overhangs, floating islands, caverns and many other terrain features exist here. This is one of the few biomes where llamas can spawn naturally. Snowfall also occurs above certain heights atop the mountain, thus creating snow layers on the top of the hills. Windswept hills are one of six biomes where emerald ore and infested stone can be found naturally. In Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education, trees cannot generate here. |
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| Windswept gravelly hills |
The windswept gravelly hills are mostly covered in gravel with occasional patches of grass and stone blocks. Due to the low amount of grass, the population of spruce and oak trees in this biome is sparse. It is also the rarest biome. |
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| Windswept forest |
This biome is found when windswept hills are located next to forested biomes. It does not generate stone patches, so the floor is entirely covered by grass. There are more spruce and oak trees in this biome, forming small forests with a lower tree density than other forest biomes. |
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Woodland biomes
Woodland biomes are rich in plants with a variety of trees, flowers and grasses.
These biomes are further divided into 7 categories: forests, taiga, old growth taigas, snowy taiga, birch forests, dark forest and jungles.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Forest |
A common biome with many oak and birch trees and a fair amount of short grass, mushrooms and flowers. Wolves can spawn in this biome. |
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| Flower forest |
This forest variant has fewer trees but contains nearly every type of flower and tall plant in the game. Wolves do not spawn in the flower forest, although rabbits spawn occasionally. Bee nests have a higher chance to generate in this biome. |
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| Taiga |
A biome covered by a forest of spruce trees. Ferns, large ferns and sweet berry bushes grow commonly on the forest floor. One can find packs of wolves here, along with small groups of foxes or rabbits. Villages may generate in this biome; the houses in these villages are built with spruce wood. Pillager outposts may also generate in this biome. This is one of the few biomes where trail ruins can generate. |
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| Old growth pine taiga |
A biome composed of spruce trees (despite it being called a pine taiga, since there is no pine in the game), much like the standard taiga biome. However, some trees are 2×2 thick and taller than normal, akin to large jungle trees. Mossy cobblestone boulders appear frequently, mushrooms are common, and podzol can be found on the forest floor. There are also patches of coarse dirt that do not grow grass, with some dead bushes. Wolves and foxes can spawn here, as they do in normal taiga biomes. Rabbits may also spawn here[JE only]. |
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| Old growth spruce taiga |
At first glance, this biome may look almost exactly the same as its pine tree counterpart. However, the most striking feature of this biome is its giant spruce trees, which are essentially a scaled-up version of regular spruce trees. One can easily differentiate this from an old growth pine taiga by observing how the leaves almost completely cover the tree trunks, whereas in pine ones, leaves tend to cover only the top. |
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| Snowy taiga |
Similar to the standard taiga, except much of the biome is covered in snow. Ferns and large ferns generate here commonly, however sweet berry bushes generate more rarely than in the regular taiga. Wolves, foxes, and rabbits can spawn here. One may also find an igloo nestled between the trees, making it one of the three biomes where igloos naturally generate. Villages and pillager outposts may also generate here[Bedrock Edition only]. Villages use the same architecture as taiga villages, but the villagers wear snowy biome outfits. |
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| Birch forest |
A forest that is solely made of birch trees. The grass is aqua in color, and unlike the regular forest, no wolves spawn in this biome. |
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| Old growth birch forest |
Birch trees grow much taller than usual in this uncommon variant of the birch forest biome. Whereas normal birch trees grow up to 7 blocks tall, these trees can grow up to 13 blocks in height. This makes deforestation a much more difficult task, although it provides the player with far more resources. Trail ruins can generate here. |
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| Dark forest |
This biome is mainly composed of dark oak trees, which create a mostly closed roof of leaves. Oak trees, birch trees, and huge mushrooms can also be found occasionally. Trees in this forest are so densely packed that some areas are dark enough for hostile mobs to spawn, even during the day. On rare occasions, a woodland mansion may generate, making the dark forest one of only 2 biomes where it can be found. |
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| Pale garden |
The pale garden is a rarer variation of the dark forest biome. The dark oak trees are replaced with pale oak trees, with lots of pale hanging moss hanging from the trees. Patches of pale moss blocks and pale moss carpets cover much of the ground, and patches of eyeblossoms dot the landscape. The sky, foliage, and water in this biome are gray and desaturated. Some of the pale oak trees may have a creaking heart hidden within them, which will spawn a creaking at night. No passive mobs spawn in this biome. On rare occasions, a woodland mansion may generate, making the pale garden one of only 2 biomes where it can be found. |
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| Jungle |
A dense forested biome that includes many different plants and features. Jungle trees and mega jungle trees are common, with the mega trees having 2x2 thick trunks and possibly growing up to 31 blocks in height. Fancy oak trees are also common, and jungle bushes often cover much of the forest floor. Ferns and large ferns are found commonly, and vines are found growing on most types of blocks, especially on jungle trees. Additionally, cocoa can also grow on the sides of jungle trees. Melons can generate here in patches, similar to pumpkins, although they are much more common. Single shoots of bamboo can be found scattered throughout the biome. The foliage in the jungle is a bright, lush green color. Jungle pyramids and trail ruins can generate, and ocelots, parrots, and pandas can spawn in this biome. |
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| Sparse jungle |
In contrast to the wild and overgrown vegetation of the jungle biome, the sparse jungle consists of jungle trees, fancy oak trees, and jungle bushes that are spaced out and isolated, creating a much more open environment. The terrain of this biome is often flat, but there may be some small rises in elevation. Parrots, ocelots, and pandas can still spawn in the sparse jungle[Bedrock Edition only]. Wolves can also spawn in this biome. |
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| Bamboo jungle |
In this biome, large areas of the landscape are covered with massive amounts of bamboo. Patches of podzol can be found underneath the densely packed bamboo. Additionally, mega jungle trees, fancy oak trees, and jungle bushes can also generate here. Pandas have a much higher chance to spawn here than the other jungle biomes, making this the best place to find them. Ocelots[BE only] and parrots are also able to spawn, and jungle pyramids can generate here[JE only]. |
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Wetland biomes
Wetland biomes contains rivers, swamps and beaches. They have a large amount of water resources. Rivers separate other biomes; beaches generate as a transition between the ocean and land.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| River |
A biome that consists of water blocks that form an elongated, curving shape similar to a real river. Rivers cut through terrain or separate the main biomes. They attempt to join up with ocean biomes, but sometimes loop around to the same area of ocean. Rarely, they can have no connection to an ocean, instead of forming a loop. The grass has a dull aqua tone, much like the ocean, and trace amounts of oak trees tend to generate there as well. Rivers are also a reliable source of clay. These biomes are good for fishing, but drowned can spawn at night. In Bedrock Edition, mobs other than salmon, squid and drowned cannot spawn in this biome, even underground, except in a monster spawner. |
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| Frozen river |
A river with a layer of ice covering its surface. It generates when a river goes through snowy biomes. Salmon spawn underwater while rabbits and polar bears spawn on ice. At night, drowned can spawn below the ice with strays on the surface. In Bedrock Edition, no other hostile mobs can spawn here, even underground, except from a monster spawner. |
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| Swamp |
A biome characterized by a mix of flat areas around sea level, and shallow pools of green water with floating lily pads. Clay, sand and dirt are commonly found at the bottom of these pools. Trees are covered with vines and can be found growing out from the water. Mushrooms and sugar canes are abundant, and blue orchids grow exclusively here. Frogs of the temperate variant can spawn here as well. Swamp huts with a black cat and a witch generate exclusively in swamps. Slimes also spawn naturally at night, most commonly on full moons. Some zombies may end up underwater, which can transform them into drowned, and some skeletons are replaced by boggeds, making this an especially dangerous biome at night. Temperature varies within the biome, causing foliage and grass colors to vary. In Bedrock Edition, huge mushrooms also spawn in this biome. Visibility is also lower than other biomes when the player is underwater. |
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| Mangrove swamp |
A biome characterized by a dense foliage, featuring plenty of mangrove trees of varying heights. The floor is mainly composed of mud blocks with occasional grass patches. The grass has the same color as in the normal swamp but leaves and vines have a unique light green tint and the water is teal rather than gray. Frogs often spawn in this biome and all frogs spawned here are warm frogs. Slimes also spawn naturally at night, most commonly on full moons. Some zombies may end up underwater, which can transform them into drowned, and some skeletons are replaced by boggeds, making this an especially dangerous biome at night. Visibility is also lower than other biomes when the player is underwater. |
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| Beach |
Generated where oceans meet other biomes, beaches are primarily composed of sand. Beaches penetrate the landscape, removing the original blocks and placing in sand blocks. These are also useful for fishing. Buried treasure can be found under few blocks of sand. Passive mobs other than turtles do not spawn on beaches. |
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| Snowy beach |
Like a regular beach, one can find plenty of sand in this biome and buried treasure can be found underground in this snowy beach. However, sand is covered in a layer of snow. Snowy beaches are found when a snowy biome borders a frozen ocean biome. No passive mobs other than rabbits[BE only] spawn in this biome. |
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| Stony shore |
This stone-covered biome often appears where mountains meet the ocean. Depending on the height of the nearby land, stony shores may generate as medium slopes or huge cliffs, its tops tall enough to be covered by snow even when near warmer biomes.[1] No passive mobs spawn here. Buried treasure can generate here[BE only]. Strips of gravel can sometimes be found here. |
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Flatland biomes
These biomes have a flat terrain and a wide view. Trees spawn less here and water sources are plentiful. They also have a higher number of passive mob spawns.
These biomes are further divided into two categories: plains and snowy plains.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Plains |
A flat and grassy biome with rolling hills and few oak trees. Villages are common. Cave openings, lava lakes and waterfalls are easily identifiable due to the flat unobstructed terrain. Passive mobs are easily found in plains biomes; this biome and its variants are also of the few biomes where horses spawn naturally. Pillager outposts may also be generated. |
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| Sunflower plains |
A fairly uncommon variation of the plains, this biome is the only place where sunflowers naturally generate. In Bedrock Edition, villages may also generate here. |
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| Snowy plains |
An expansive biome with a huge amount of snow layers. Sugar cane can generate in this biome, but can become uprooted when chunks load as the water sources freeze to ice. There are few spruce trees in this biome. No animal mobs other than rabbits and polar bears can spawn; however, it is one of the few biomes where strays appear. In Bedrock Edition, this biome does not spawn monsters other than strays and skeletons, but monster spawners can still spawn monsters. This is one of the three biomes where igloos naturally generate. Villages and pillager outposts may also generate here. |
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| Ice spikes |
A rare variation of the snowy plains biome that features large spikes and glaciers of packed ice. Usually, the spikes are 10 to 20 blocks tall, but some long, thin spikes can reach over 50 blocks in height. The floor in this biome is entirely covered in snow blocks instead of grass, and ice patches made of packed ice can generate on it. Like the regular snowy plains, no animal mobs other than rabbits and polar bears can spawn and strays appear at night. |
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Arid-land biomes
In these biomes, it neither rains or snows, but the sky still turns overcast during inclement weather. The surface is covered with sparse vegetation.
These biomes are further divided into three categories: deserts, savannas and badlands.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Desert |
A barren biome consisting mostly of sand dunes, dead bushes, and cacti. Sandstone and sometimes fossils are found underneath the sand. The only passive mobs that spawn naturally in deserts are gold/creamy rabbits. At night, husks usually spawn in the place of normal zombies. Sugar cane can be found if the desert is next to a river biome. Desert villages, desert wells and desert pyramids are found exclusively in this biome. Pillager outposts can also generate here. |
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| Savanna |
A relatively flat and dry biome with a dull-brown grass color and acacia trees scattered around the biome, though oak trees may generate occasionally. Tall grass covers the landscape. Villages can generate in this biome, constructed of acacia wood, with some stained terracotta. Pillager outposts can also generate here. Horses, llamas[BE only], and armadillos can naturally spawn here. |
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| Savanna plateau |
This biome generates when a normal savanna biome spawns at high altitudes and near mountains. It is mostly indistinguishable from the standard savanna, with the main differences being the fact that llamas and wolves can spawn, and villages and pillager outposts cannot generate. |
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| Windswept Savanna |
In contrast to the mostly flat and calm terrain of the savanna biome, this uncommon variant generates chaotic terrain, with gigantic mountains covered in coarse dirt and some patches of stone. The mountains in the windswept savanna are extremely steep, sometimes jutting out at 90-degree angles, making it almost impossible to climb. On top of that, they can reach heights comparable to the mountain peak biomes, sometimes rising above the clouds. Massive waterfalls and lavafalls are quite common, and ocean-like lakes can also generate. Unlike the regular savanna, villages and pillager outposts do not generate in this biome. |
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| Badlands |
An uncommon biome where large mounds of terracotta and stained terracotta generate. Red sand also generates here instead of regular sand, with occasional cacti and dead bushes. This biome is usually found alongside desert biomes and it can generate in mountainous terrain. The only passive mob that can spawn here is the armadillo. Mineshafts generate at a higher altitude than normal - occasionally a player may come across a mineshaft jutting out of the badlands. Gold ore also occurs more frequently, because additional veins can generate within badlands up to Y=256. The composition of this biome is useful when other sources of terracotta and gold are scarce. |
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| Wooded badlands |
The wooded badlands has layers of coarse dirt and forests of oak trees that generate atop the badlands in humid areas. The color of the grass and leaves is a dull green-brown hue, giving it a dried and dead appearance. These trees are a rare source of wood when living in the otherwise barren badlands. Wolves and armadillos are the only mobs that can spawn here during the day. |
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| Eroded badlands |
This rare variant generates unique terrain features that are similar to the structures in Utah's Bryce Canyon. Tall and narrow spires of colorful terracotta rise out of the floor of the canyon, which like all other badlands variants, is covered in red sand. The only passive mob that can spawn here is the armadillo. |
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Cave biomes
These biomes generate inside caves in the Overworld. They're mostly found underground but can sometimes leak out of cave entrances.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Deep dark |
A dimly lit cave biome that generates deep underground mostly within the deepslate layer. It is largely sculk blocks 1 block thick upon all surfaces, with frequent sculk sensors and occasional sculk shriekers, the latter of which can directly summon a warden. An ancient city is a large structure that can generate here, containing chests with unique loot. No mobs aside from wardens spawn here. |
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| Dripstone caves |
These are caves filled with dripstone blocks and pointed dripstone both hanging as stalactites and growing from the ground as stalagmites and small water wells of 1×1 in the ground. Large dripstone clusters structures generate occasionally inside these caves. Copper ore blobs found in this biome are much bigger compared to other biomes. Drowned can spawn in aquifers. |
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| Lush caves |
Lush caves are often found underground below azalea trees. These caves are covered by moss blocks, moss carpets, short grass and azalea bushes on the floors. On the ceiling, vines and cave vines with glow berries grow down and light up the caves, and spore blossoms grow from the ceiling and spore particles. There are also shallow lakes with clay where dripleaf plants grow out of them and axolotls spawn, making this the only biome where they can spawn. Tropical fish can also spawn inside the aquifers in a lush cave. |
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Void biomes
These are spawned in an open area in the void.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| The Void[Java Edition only] |
Can be accessed only through Single Biome world selection or The Void superflat preset. In a single biome world, the landscape consists of stone, as well as water and bedrock depending on the generator type. In The Void superflat preset, the world is completely empty except for a single structure: a 33×33 stone platform with a single block of cobblestone in the center. No mobs (passive or hostile) can spawn without spawn eggs, monster spawners or commands. It does not rain in this biome. |
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The Nether
The Nether is considered a different dimension. All biomes in this dimension are dry, and it is not possible to place water; ice can still be placed, though it does not turn into water upon melting. Lava oceans are generated as a feature and are therefore not considered a separate biome.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| Nether wastes |
The Nether wastes is the most common biome in the Nether. The terrain mainly consists of netherrack, with glowstone clusters growing and lava leaking from the ceiling and gravel and soul sand lining its shores. Most of the Nether’s mobs can spawn here, including ghasts, zombified piglins, magma cubes, striders, piglins, and the occasional enderman. |
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| Soul sand valley |
The soul sand valley mainly consists of soul sand, basalt and soul soil. Notable features of the biome are exposed nether fossils in various shapes and sizes, large amounts of lava, blue fog, large spires made of basalt, soul fire, and the occasional nether fortress or bastion remnant. Ghasts and skeletons are common in this biome. |
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| Crimson forest |
The crimson forest consists of many huge crimson fungi, which act as the "trees" of this biome. The huge fungi often generate with weeping vines hanging from them, and shroomlights which light up the landscape. The floor is mostly covered with crimson nylium, with occasional patches of bare netherrack or nether wart blocks. Crimson roots, crimson fungus, and occasionally warped fungus grow on the ground. Small patches of nether wart blocks and weeping vines can also be found growing on the ceiling. Hoglins, piglins, zombified piglins, and striders can spawn in this biome. |
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| Warped forest |
The warped forest consists of many huge warped fungi, which act as the "trees" of this biome. The huge fungi often generate with shroomlights, which light up the landscape. Twisting vines grow throughout the biome in patches. The floor is mostly covered with warped nylium, with occasional patches of bare netherrack or warped wart blocks. Warped roots, warped fungus, nether sprouts, and occasionally crimson fungus grow on the ground. Endermen and striders are the only mobs that spawn in this biome. The biome emits out a magenta-purple fog upon entry. |
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| Basalt deltas |
A gray biome, the basalt deltas are said to be the remnant of ancient volcanic eruptions. The ground consists of basalt and blackstone blocks, with small patches of netherrack and pools of lava. The shape of the terrain is chaotic and uneven, making it somewhat difficult to traverse and build on. Unlike the other biomes in the Nether, bastion remnants do not generate in basalt deltas. When this biome borders a lava ocean, clusters of basalt form near the coast. Fog is colored light-gray and particles of dust can be seen falling from the ceiling upon entry. Magma cubes have a high spawn rate in this biome, making the basalt deltas the best place to farm magma cream. This biome also contains a much higher abundance of blackstone compared to other Nether biomes. |
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The End
The End is considered a different dimension.
| Biome name | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|
| The End |
This biome is used to generate the circle of radius 1000 centered at the 0,0 coordinates in the End. The End central island is generated at the center of this circle, and it's surrounded by a complete vacuum all the way to the edge of the biome. Most of the End features are exclusive to that island, including the ender dragon, the obsidian pillars, the end crystals, the 5×5 spawn platform, the exit portal and the 20 central end gateways. Large amounts of endermen spawn in this biome. It does not rain or snow in this biome unlike the other low-temperature biomes. The outer islands in the End can be accessed using end gateways after the ender dragon has been defeated. If the biome is used for a superflat world, the sky appears nearly black and an ender dragon spawns at the 0,0 coordinates in the Overworld. Only endermen spawn at night. |
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| Small End islands[JE only] |
Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the empty expanse between the larger islands, populated by the smaller, circular islands. |
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| End midlands[JE only] |
Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the gradual slope from the hilltops of each island down to the cliffs around the edge. End cities generate here, but chorus trees do not. |
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| End highlands[JE only] |
Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the hilltops of each island, and is the only biome in the End where both chorus trees and end cities generate. |
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| End barrens[JE only] |
Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the outer rims of each island, with steep cliffs below the edge. Neither end cities nor chorus trees generate in this biome. |
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Unused biomes
These biomes don't generate in default worlds. They have been completely removed from the game in Java Edition.
| Biome name | Features | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy frozen ocean |
Polar bears, salmon, cod, strays, cold underwater ruins, gravel, seagrass, kelp, snowy rabbits, ice, shipwrecks |
Similar to the frozen ocean biome, but without icebergs, it is completely flat. Because they are a frozen ocean variant, they can spawn polar bears and strays, but not dolphins. Unlike the regular frozen ocean, polar bears, drowned, squid, salmon, cod, rabbits, skeletons and strays are the only mobs that spawn here. Kelp also generates here. This biome doesn't generate naturally from Pocket Edition Alpha 0.9.0 onward. When Bedrock Edition 1.4.0 introduced the new frozen ocean, this biome was not removed or replaced by the new frozen ocean, although the id name changed from frozen_ocean to legacy_frozen_ocean.
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| Desert lakes |
Sand, cacti, water, sugar canes, gold rabbits, desert well, fossils, husks |
In this biome, patches of water are more common, and the terrain is slightly more rough. Although desert wells can be found, desert pyramids, villages and outposts do not generate in this biome. |  |
| Mountain edge |
Grass blocks, dirt, stone, llamas, emerald ore, infested stone, spruce trees, oak trees, snow |
Similar to the sparse jungle biome, the mountain edge used to generate exclusively at the edge of windswept hills biomes in order to smooth the transition between biomes. This biome has lots of trees, similar to windswept forests. While the terrain is lower and gentler in nature, some areas may reach high enough to be covered by snow. This biome doesn't generate naturally from Pocket Edition v0.9.0 alpha and Java Edition 1.7.2 onward. |  |
| Deep warm ocean |
Dolphins, pufferfish, tropical fishes, warm underwater ruins, sand, seagrass, ocean monuments, guardians, elder guardians, shipwrecks |
Similar to the warm ocean biome, but without coral reefs or sea pickles, and twice as deep. Because they are a deep ocean variant, they can generate ocean monuments, resulting in the spawning of guardians, elder guardians, prismarine and sponges. |  |
| Hills | Hills are generated within certain biomes (including some of their variants) and are referred in the F3 menu with "hills" added to their name (except snowy mountains).
This includes: wooded hills, taiga hills, snowy taiga hills, jungle hills, desert hills, birch forest hills, tall birch hills, giant tree taiga hills, giant spruce taiga hills, snowy mountains and bamboo jungle hills. Most hills are gentle rolling slopes on which the usual biome terrain generates, with some sharper cliffs here and there. Snowy mountains have a lower chance of spawning passive mobs during world generation than other biomes (7% versus 10%). Giant spruce taiga hills are a special case. In Java Edition, the game code sets the values |
    | |
| Badlands plateau | Badlands plateaus generate as actual biomes in badlands biomes, and are flattened at the top, much like real-life plateaus. They come to rest at an elevation of about 20 to 30 blocks above sea level. One may discover the entrance to a mineshaft within the tall slopes of a badlands plateau. |
 | |
| Modified Plateaus | Two rare variants of the plateau biomes, which are variants themselves. However, neither of these biomes closely resemble their counterparts.
Compared to the average badlands plateau, the modified badlands plateau features more variable terrain and smaller plateaus, as if a larger plateau was weathered down over time. It is the second-rarest biome in the game, after the modified jungle edge. The terrain of the shattered savanna plateau biome is much less tame than its normal counterpart. It features incredibly large and steep mountains that jut out of the terrain, similar to the shattered savanna biome, albeit slightly smaller and gentler in comparison. |
  | |
| Modified wooded badlands plateau | This biome features grass and oak trees on top of plateaus, much like its counterpart. However, the plateaus that generate here are generally smaller, allowing far less foliage to generate. The terrain is more erratic, and can be compared to that of the similar modified badlands plateau biome, having an old and eroded appearance. Eroded badlands generate instead of desert alongside this biome. |  | |
| Mushroom field shore |
Mushrooms, huge mushrooms, mycelium, mooshrooms, buried treasure, shipwrecks |
Mushroom field shores represent the transition between mushroom fields and the ocean, forming long strips between the biomes as a "beach", hence the name. However, it does not generate if the ocean biome is a deep ocean. This biome also generates when a river meets a mushroom fields biome, similar to what frozen rivers do in snowy plains. The terrain of this biome is much more flat and shallow than the main mushroom fields biome, though it contains many of the same features, such as a mycelium surface layer, huge mushrooms and lack of hostile mobs, but shipwrecks and buried treasure can generate here. |  |
Removed biomes
These biomes no longer exist in current versions of the game.
| Biome name | Features | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tundra | Snowy, barren terrain with few trees. The occasional trees do exist, although rarely. Ice can be found over water. Snow is common weather in tundras. It generates when the temperature is below 50% and the downfall is less than 20%. |  | |
| Rainforest | Rainforests are wet biomes with many trees, which have a 1 in 3 chance of being big, instead of 1 in 10 like all other biomes. They generate only oak trees and have a large amount of short grass and ferns. A biome is classified as a rainforest if the temperature is greater than 97% and the downfall is more than 90%. This could be the biome with some of the most cliffs and hills, because the world generator reduces height variation at lower downfalls. |  | |
| Seasonal forest | Seasonal forests spawn with a temperature of 97% or greater, and a downfall value between 45% and 90%. They are commonly found between forest and rainforests, and near plains biomes. They are identical to forests, except they have fewer trees and can spawn only oak trees. They have a little bit of short grass. |  | |
| Ice desert | An unused biome before Beta 1.8 that was in the code but never implemented into the temperature/downfall table and thus did not actually generate. It was a biome of sand with snow on top of it and had snowfall and ice (the player can create something similar using the buffet world option and choosing the snowy beach biome). |  | |
| Shrubland | A biome with few trees and no short grass. It is identical to the savanna biome. It is one of the smallest biomes in the game. It can generate if the temperature is between 50% and 97%, and the downfall value is below 35%. It is too small to generate a forest. |  |
Joke biomes
These biomes can appear only in April Fools snapshots of the game.
| Biome name | Features | Description | [hide]Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|
_generated:id
|
All mobs, blocks, particles and structures in 20w14a | _generated:id is the resource location of the generated biome. Its namespace is _generated and its name is the biome's numeric ID.
This "biome" includes all the other non-custom dimensions biomes. All mobs, blocks, particles and structures in 20w13b (vanilla) can generate in this biome. A dimension can have multiple of these randomly generated biomes. |
 |
| Arboretum | All types of trees, including potato trees, huge mushrooms, park lanes, potato villages | A forested biome, with every type of tree added to Minecraft thus far. Non-uniform foliage color and trees generating close to each other distinguish this biome from other forest-type biomes. Generates in the Potato dimension. |  |
| Between | End ships | Grid of end ships. Generates in the fleet dimension as well as some other random ones. There is no elytra as loot, but dragon heads still generate. Chests generate, but contain only a book titled "orders" written by a mess of changing letters. The contents have at least one word, usually an order (eg: build), a mess of constantly changing letters with varying lengths and another word(s) (eg: Lost Floppy).
|
 |
| Biome For Player With No Time For Nonsense | Generates as a normal snowy taiga, but all ores are mineral blocks or redstone components. |  | |
| Corruption | Potato trees, potato buds, potato villages | A forested biome, covered in potato trees of various sized, as well as potato buds, that grow upward like stalagmites. Phantoms here spawn naturally during the day and they don't burn. Generates in the Potato dimension. |  |
| Fields | Fields of potatoes, potato villages | Large percent of the surface is covered with poison farmland, and potatoes grow on top of it. Generates in the Potato dimension. |  |
| Hash | Hash wells, fossils, venomous columns | A dry biome, with almost no vegetation. Only biome where gravtater and vicious potatoes occur naturally. Generates in the Potato dimension. |  |
| The Moon | Moon cow, lunar base, cheese | Generates flat terrain with craters made of blocks that can be "eaten" to change their shape. The only mob that spawns here is the moon cow. There is also the Lunar Base that can be expanded by stepping on the pressure plate, the only feature in the moon. |  |
| Shapes | Terracotta, glazed terracotta, concrete, concrete powder, wool, carpets, stained glass, stained glass pane | Generates spheres, cubes, octahedra etc. of various colors and materials. |  |
| Wasteland | Poisonous water and rain, columns of ancient debris, toxifin slabs | A desolate and dangerous biome. Water and rain applies the Poison effect to players and mobs. Toxifin slabs spawn in large numbers, causing more Poison and Wither. Ancient debris is common in this biome. Generates in the Potato dimension. | .png) |
Tint
Plants
Biome grass and foliage colors are selected from two 256×256 colormap images: grass.png and foliage.png under assets/minecraft/textures/colormap[JE only] or textures/colormap[BE only]. The grass.png colormap sets the colors for grass block, short grass, tall grass, ferns, large ferns, ferns in flower pots, sugar canes, bushes and stems of pink petals and wildflowers. Meanwhile, the foliage.png colormap sets the colors for vines and tree leaves of oak, jungle, acacia, dark oak and mangrove. The dry_foliage.png colormap sets the colors for leaf litter. Only the colors in the lower-left halfs of the images are used, even though the upper-right side of foliage.png and dry_foliage.png is colored.
-
grass.png
-
foliage.png
-
dry_foliage.png
The adjusted temperature and adjusted downfall values (recognized as AdjTemp and AdjDownfall in the following, respectively) are used when determining the biome color to select from the colormap. They are computed as follows:
AdjTemp = clamp( Temperature, 0.0, 1.0 )
AdjDownfall = clamp( Downfall, 0.0, 1.0 ) * AdjTemp.
"clamp" limits the range of the temperature and downfall to 0.0—1.0. The clamped downfall value is then multiplied by the adjusted temperature value, bringing its value to be inside the lower left triangle. Treating the bottom-right corner of the colormap as AdjTemp = 0.0 and AdjDownfall = 0.0, the adjusted temperature increases to 1.0 along the X-axis, and the adjusted downfall increases to 1.0 along the Y-axis.
Special plant tints
In the following cases, the plants are not tinted exactly according to the colormap. In Java Edition, several of them are specified in biome Jsons in vanilla data pack.
- Swamps
In swamps and mangrove swamps, the grass color (used for grass blocks, short and tall grass, small and large ferns, ferns in flower pots, sugar canes, bushes and the stems of pink petals and wildflowers) is based on a noise on XZ plane. When the value of this noise is less than -0.1, it uses the color
#4c763c. Otherwise using
#6a7039. The foliage color (used for vines and leaves of oaks, jungles, acacias, dark oaks and mangroves) is
#6a7039 in swamps and
#8db127 in mangrove swamps, which are not affected by the colormap. The dry foliage color (used for leaf litter) in swamps and mangrove swamps is
#7b5334, which also ignores the colormap.
- Dark forest
In dark forests, the grass color (used for grass blocks, short and tall grass, small and large ferns, ferns in flower pots, sugar canes, bushes and the stems of pink petals and wildflowers) is the result of the bitwise AND between the color in the colormap and
#fefefe, and then averaging with
#28340a. In vanilla, that is
#507a32.
- Badlands
In badlands, wooded badlands and eroded badlands, the grass color (used for grass blocks, short and tall grass, small and large ferns, ferns in flower pots, sugar canes, bushes and the stems of pink petals and wildflowers) is
#90814d. The foliage color (used for vines and leaves of oaks, jungles, acacias, dark oaks and mangroves) is
#9e814d. The dry foliage color (used for leaf litter) is
#9e814d. They are not affected by the colormap.
- Cherry grove
The color for grass and foliage in cherry groves is always
#b6db61, which is not affected by the colormap.
- Pale garden
In the pale garden, the grass color (used for grass blocks, short and tall grass, small and large ferns, ferns in flower pots, sugar canes, bushes and the stems of pink petals and wildflowers) is
#778272. The foliage color (used for vines and leaves of oaks, jungles, acacias, dark oaks and mangroves) is
#878d76. The dry foliage color (used for leaf litter) is
#a0a69c They are not affected by the colormap.
- Other leaves
The color for spruce leaves is
#619961 and the color for birch leaves is
#80a755. Both are not affected by the biome.
Environment
The color of the sky in Overworld changes according to the basic temperature value of the biome. The basic temperature is first modified as T = clamp( Temperature / 3 , -1.0, 1.0 ). Then the triple (0.62222224-0.05T, 0.5+0.1T, 1) is the sky color.
The color of the sky in the pale garden biome is
#b9b9b9, which is unaffected by the above formula.
The colors of water, underwater fog and fog in a biome are defined in the vanilla data pack[JE only] or vanilla resource packs[BE only].
See the List of biome climates for these colors.
Transition
When plants or water are at the borders between or among biomes, the color is affected by the biome of the surrounding blocks at the same Y-level. The range of the block involved in the calculation is determined by the biome blend radius in options. Takes the plant color or water color of the biomes within a square centered on this block and with the side length being the biome blend radius, and calculates their average value to get the final color for this block.
The sky color [JE only] and the fog color use the color processed by Gaussian blur from colors of the biomes at each block in the range of 5×5×5 centered on the block the camera is in.
Climate
A biome has three climate attributes: temperature, downfall and precipitation.
Temperature
Each biome has a base temperature value (see the List of biome climates), but the actual temperature value at each location in the biome is also affected by the height of the location. Locations with Y≤80 use the base temperature as actual temperature. At Y=81, the actual temperature value randomly fluctuates up and down by -0.00875 — +0.01125 from the base temperature based on a noise on the XZ plane, and at Y≥81 the actual temperature decreases by 0.00125 (1⁄800) every block up.
In Java Edition, especially in Frozen Ocean and Deep Frozen Ocean, it is also affected by a noise value on the XZ plane. In some regions according to the noise, the base temperature value is always regarded as 0.2. The actual temperature values for these regions are also calculated on this basis. This is detectable in Frozen Ocean, as its base temperature is low enough to freeze or snow, so that only these regions do not freeze or snow at sea level.
Downfall
The downfall value is a number between 0.0 and 1.0 (see the List of biome climates). When the downfall value is greater than 0.85, the biome is marked as humid, which is related only to the random extinction of fire. This value doesn't affect the weather. See Rain.
Precipitation
The precipitation value can be "true" or "false". If the precipitation of the biome is false, no rain or snow occur. Otherwise, a location is rainable when its temperature value is greater than 0.15, and snowable otherwise.
So, if the base temperature is not greater than 0.15, it's snowable at any Y level. And if greater than 0.15, it can snow above a certain Y level, which are listed below:
| Biomes | [hide]Minimum height for snowfall |
|---|---|
 Windswept Hills Windswept Gravelly Hills Windswept Forest Stony Shore[1] Dripstone Caves[BE only][2]Some regions of  Frozen Ocean and  Deep Frozen Ocean
|
120±8 |
 Old Growth Spruce Taiga Taiga
|
160±8 |
 Old Growth Pine Taiga Meadow[BE only] Cherry Grove[BE only]
|
200±8 |
| Others | 356±8 (out of world) |
The exact minimum height for snowfall is randomized per block, with a margin of 8 blocks. In Bedrock Edition, this is a transition layer where both snow and rain particles are visible at the same time. This transition also appears when moving horizontally between snowy and rainy biomes.
Snow accumulation
In Java Edition, the maximum snow accumulation layer can be set by snowAccumulationHeight game rules. In Bedrock Edition, the maximum snow layer is based on the snow accumulation value of the biome. The value is an array of 2 numbers, representing the minimum and maximum snow heights, with 0.0 being no snow and 1.0 being the full height of one block.
List of biome climates
Overworld
| Biomes | Base temperature | Downfall | Precipitation | Snow accumulation[BE only] | Grass color | Leaf color | Sky color | Fog color |
|---|
| Biome | Water color in Bedrock Edition | Water fog color in Bedrock Edition | Water color in Java Edition | Water fog color in Java Edition |
|---|
The Nether
| Biome | Base temperature | Downfall | Precipitation | Grass color | Leaf color | Sky color | Water color | Water fog color | Fog color |
|---|
The End
| Biome | Base temperature | Downfall | Precipitation | Grass color | Leaf color | Sky color | Water color | Water fog color | Fog color |
|---|
Generation
Biome distribution in Java Edition 1.21.4
Overworld
| Biome | Area cover by altitude | Volume cover | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y = -55 | Y = -32 | Y = 0 | Y = 32 | Y = 64 | Y < 64 | Y < 320 | |
| Surface biomes | 88.16% | 86.42% | 76.38% | 87.95% | 96.29% | 85.74% | 95.00% |
| Dripstone Caves
|
0.914% | 4.41% | 12.66% | 8.75% | 3.03% | 6.78% | 2.48% |
 Lush Caves
|
0.886% | 5.23% | 10.18% | 3.20% | 0.668% | 4.74% | 1.62% |
 Deep Dark
|
10.04% | 3.94% | 0.776% | 0.108% | 0.013% | 2.74% | 0.915% |
The Nether
| Biome | Volume cover |
|---|---|
 Nether Wastes
|
36.30% |
 Crimson Forest
|
22.22% |
 Soul Sand Valley
|
17.08% |
 Basalt Deltas
|
15.86% |
 Warped Forest
|
8.54% |
The End
| Biome | Area cover |
|---|---|
 Small End Islands
|
45.81% |
 End Midlands
|
25.70% |
 End Highlands
|
17.66% |
 End Barrens
|
10.82%[note 1] |
 The End
|
9.14 × 10-10 |
Biome IDs
Java Edition
Each type of biome has its own Resource Location, shown in the following tables.
Before 1.13 biomes used to have a numerical ID. These can be seen in this page: Biome/IDs before 1.13
In versions after 1.13 biomes use a numerical ID which is determined by the alphabetical ordering of their resource locations. This information is however only used by the game internals and is not included below.
| Name | [hide]Resource location |
|---|---|
 The Void
|
the_void
|
 Plains
|
plains
|
 Sunflower Plains
|
sunflower_plains
|
 Snowy Plains
|
snowy_plains
|
 Ice Spikes
|
ice_spikes
|
 Desert
|
desert
|
 Swamp
|
swamp
|
 Mangrove Swamp
|
mangrove_swamp
|
 Forest
|
forest
|
 Flower Forest
|
flower_forest
|
 Birch Forest
|
birch_forest
|
 Dark Forest
|
dark_forest
|
 Pale Garden
|
pale_garden
|
 Old Growth Birch Forest
|
old_growth_birch_forest
|
| Old Growth Pine Taiga
|
old_growth_pine_taiga
|
| Old Growth Spruce Taiga
|
old_growth_spruce_taiga
|
| Taiga
|
taiga
|
 Snowy Taiga
|
snowy_taiga
|
 Savanna
|
savanna
|
 Savanna Plateau
|
savanna_plateau
|
| Windswept Hills
|
windswept_hills
|
| Windswept Gravelly Hills
|
windswept_gravelly_hills
|
| Windswept Forest
|
windswept_forest
|
 Windswept Savanna
|
windswept_savanna
|
 Jungle
|
jungle
|
 Sparse Jungle
|
sparse_jungle
|
 Bamboo Jungle
|
bamboo_jungle
|
 Badlands
|
badlands
|
 Eroded Badlands
|
eroded_badlands
|
 Wooded Badlands
|
wooded_badlands
|
| Meadow
|
meadow
|
| Cherry Grove
|
cherry_grove
|
 Grove
|
grove
|
 Snowy Slopes
|
snowy_slopes
|
 Frozen Peaks
|
frozen_peaks
|
 Jagged Peaks
|
jagged_peaks
|
 Stony Peaks
|
stony_peaks
|
 River
|
river
|
 Frozen River
|
frozen_river
|
 Beach
|
beach
|
 Snowy Beach
|
snowy_beach
|
| Stony Shore
|
stony_shore
|
 Warm Ocean
|
warm_ocean
|
 Lukewarm Ocean
|
lukewarm_ocean
|
 Deep Lukewarm Ocean
|
deep_lukewarm_ocean
|
 Ocean
|
ocean
|
 Deep Ocean
|
deep_ocean
|
 Cold Ocean
|
cold_ocean
|
 Deep Cold Ocean
|
deep_cold_ocean
|
| Frozen Ocean
|
frozen_ocean
|
| Deep Frozen Ocean
|
deep_frozen_ocean
|
 Mushroom Fields
|
mushroom_fields
|
| Dripstone Caves
|
dripstone_caves
|
| Lush Caves
|
lush_caves
|
| Deep Dark
|
deep_dark
|
| Nether Wastes
|
nether_wastes
|
| Warped Forest
|
warped_forest
|
| Crimson Forest
|
crimson_forest
|
| Soul Sand Valley
|
soul_sand_valley
|
| Basalt Deltas
|
basalt_deltas
|
| The End
|
the_end
|
| End Highlands
|
end_highlands
|
| End Midlands
|
end_midlands
|
| Small End Islands
|
small_end_islands
|
| End Barrens
|
end_barrens
|
Bedrock Edition
Each type of biome has its own Resource Location / IDs, shown in the following tables.
| Name | Resource location | [hide]Numeric ID |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean
|
ocean
|
0 |
 Legacy Frozen Ocean
|
legacy_frozen_ocean
|
10 |
| Deep Ocean
|
deep_ocean
|
24 |
| Frozen Ocean
|
frozen_ocean
|
46 |
| Deep Frozen Ocean
|
deep_frozen_ocean
|
47 |
| Cold Ocean
|
cold_ocean
|
44 |
| Deep Cold Ocean
|
deep_cold_ocean
|
45 |
| Lukewarm Ocean
|
lukewarm_ocean
|
42 |
| Deep Lukewarm Ocean
|
deep_lukewarm_ocean
|
43 |
| Warm Ocean
|
warm_ocean
|
40 |
 Deep Warm Ocean
|
deep_warm_ocean
|
41 |
| River
|
river
|
7 |
| Frozen River
|
frozen_river
|
11 |
| Beach
|
beach
|
16 |
| Stony Shore
|
stone_beach
|
25 |
| Snowy Beach
|
cold_beach
|
26 |
| Forest
|
forest
|
4 |
 Wooded Hills
|
forest_hills
|
18 |
| Flower Forest
|
flower_forest
|
132 |
| Birch Forest
|
birch_forest
|
27 |
 Birch Forest Hills
|
birch_forest_hills
|
28 |
| Old Growth Birch Forest
|
birch_forest_mutated
|
155 |
 Tall Birch Hills
|
birch_forest_hills_mutated
|
156 |
| Dark Forest
|
roofed_forest
|
29 |
 Dark Forest Hills
|
roofed_forest_mutated
|
157 |
| Pale Garden
|
pale_garden
|
193 |
| Jungle
|
jungle
|
21 |
 Jungle Hills
|
jungle_hills
|
22 |
| Modified Jungle
|
jungle_mutated
|
149 |
| Sparse Jungle
|
jungle_edge
|
23 |
 Modified Jungle Edge
|
jungle_edge_mutated
|
151 |
| Bamboo Jungle
|
bamboo_jungle
|
48 |
 Bamboo Jungle Hills
|
bamboo_jungle_hills
|
49 |
| Taiga
|
taiga
|
5 |
 Taiga Hills
|
taiga_hills
|
19 |
| Taiga Mountains
|
taiga_mutated
|
133 |
| Snowy Taiga
|
cold_taiga
|
30 |
 Snowy Taiga Hills
|
cold_taiga_hills
|
31 |
| Snowy Taiga Mountains
|
cold_taiga_mutated
|
158 |
| Old Growth Pine Taiga
|
mega_taiga
|
32 |
 Giant Tree Taiga Hills
|
mega_taiga_hills
|
33 |
| Old Growth Spruce Taiga
|
redwood_taiga_mutated
|
160 |
| Giant Spruce Taiga Hills
|
redwood_taiga_hills_mutated
|
161 |
| Mushroom Fields
|
mushroom_island
|
14 |
 Mushroom Field Shore
|
mushroom_island_shore
|
15 |
| Swamp
|
swampland
|
6 |
 Swamp Hills
|
swampland_mutated
|
134 |
| Mangrove Swamp
|
mangrove_swamp
|
191 |
| Savanna
|
savanna
|
35 |
| Savanna Plateau
|
savanna_plateau
|
36 |
| Windswept Savanna
|
savanna_mutated
|
163 |
 Shattered Savanna Plateau
|
savanna_plateau_mutated
|
164 |
| Plains
|
plains
|
1 |
| Sunflower Plains
|
sunflower_plains
|
129 |
| Desert
|
desert
|
2 |
 Desert Hills
|
desert_hills
|
17 |
 Desert Lakes
|
desert_mutated
|
130 |
| Snowy Plains
|
ice_plains
|
12 |
 Snowy Mountains
|
ice_mountains
|
13 |
| Ice Spikes
|
ice_plains_spikes
|
140 |
| Windswept Hills
|
extreme_hills
|
3 |
| Windswept Forest
|
extreme_hills_plus_trees
|
34 |
| Windswept Gravelly Hills
|
extreme_hills_mutated
|
131 |
 Gravelly Mountains+
|
extreme_hills_plus_trees_mutated
|
162 |
 Mountain Edge
|
extreme_hills_edge
|
20 |
| Badlands
|
mesa
|
37 |
 Badlands Plateau
|
mesa_plateau
|
39 |
 Modified Badlands Plateau
|
mesa_plateau_mutated
|
167 |
| Wooded Badlands
|
mesa_plateau_stone
|
38 |
 Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau
|
mesa_plateau_stone_mutated
|
166 |
| Eroded Badlands
|
mesa_bryce
|
165 |
| Meadow
|
meadow
|
186 |
| Cherry Grove
|
cherry_grove
|
192 |
| Grove
|
grove
|
185 |
| Snowy Slopes
|
snowy_slopes
|
184 |
| Jagged Peaks
|
jagged_peaks
|
182 |
| Frozen Peaks
|
frozen_peaks
|
183 |
| Stony Peaks
|
stony_peaks
|
189 |
| Lush Caves
|
lush_caves
|
187 |
| Dripstone Caves
|
dripstone_caves
|
188 |
| Deep Dark
|
deep_dark
|
190 |
| Nether Wastes
|
hell
|
8 |
| Crimson Forest
|
crimson_forest
|
179 |
| Warped Forest
|
warped_forest
|
180 |
| Soul Sand Valley
|
soulsand_valley
|
178 |
| Basalt Deltas
|
basalt_deltas
|
181 |
| The End
|
the_end
|
9 |
Biome colors
Achievements
| [hide] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | ||
| PS4 | Other | ||||||
 |  | Adventuring Time | Discover 17 biomes. | Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world. | 40 | Silver | |
 |  | Hot tourist destination | Visit all Nether biomes | The achievement can be completed if one visit biomes in different worlds. | 30 | Silver | |
 |  | Sail the 7 Seas | Visit all ocean biomes | Visit all ocean biomes except the deep warm ocean/legacy frozen ocean (as they are unused). | 40 | Gold | |
 |  | Sound of Music | Make the Meadows come alive with the sound of music from a jukebox. | Use a music disc on a jukebox in the Meadow biome. | 10 | Bronze | |
Advancements
History
Biome additions and changes
| [hide]Java Edition Alpha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.4 | Added Winter Mode. Maps now have a snowy or grassy theme randomly determined when creating the world. | ||||||
| v1.2.0 | preview | Added true biomes; they were rainforest, seasonal forest, forest, shrubland, taiga, tundra, savanna, plains, swampland, desert and frozen desert. | |||||
| World saves remained unchanged, other than a change in the hue of the grass. If the player moves into ungenerated chunks, the new biomes would generate. | |||||||
| [hide]Java Edition Beta | |||||||
| 1.6 | Added the Sky Dimension with its own biome. It could be viewed only through the use of modifications. | ||||||
| 1.8 | August 18, 2011 | Notch tweeted a screenshot of a revamped river biome. | |||||
| September 2, 2011 | Notch teases a screenshot of the new desert biome. | ||||||
| September 3, 2011 | Notch teases a screenshot of the new swamp biome. | ||||||
| Pre-release | Biomes got an overhaul, removing some biomes, such as the tundra, and others replaced with nine fractal-based biomes that were a mix of the previous biomes and new biomes. See here for more details. | ||||||
| [hide]Java Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | September 14, 2011 | Notch mentions "snow biomes". | |||||
| September 15, 2011 | Notch teases a screenshot of snow biomes. | ||||||
| Beta 1.9 Prerelease | Re-added tundra (as ice plains). | ||||||
| Added mushroom islands and frozen ocean. | |||||||
| 1.1 | 12w01a | Added desert, wooded and taiga hills, mountain edges and beaches. | |||||
| Smoothed color transitions between biomes – swampland grass, foliage and water smoothly transition into other biomes. | |||||||
| 1.2.1 | January 18, 2012 | Jens Bergensten tweeted a teaser screenshot of a new jungle biome. | |||||
| January 19, 2012 | He tweeted another jungle screenshot, showcasing the bright green foliage. | ||||||
| 12w03a | Added the jungle biome. | ||||||
| 12w07a | The Anvil file format was introduced and it allows for biomes to be stored in the world data. In contrast, the Region file format relies on the seed to dynamically calculate biome placement. This would cause biome placement in older worlds to change when the biome generation code was changed. With the current Anvil format, the biome data is stored along with the rest of the world data, meaning it does not change after the world is generated and can be edited by third-party map-editing tools. Furthermore, "edge" biomes allow for biomes to continue to extend beyond the edge chunks of an old world. This allows for smooth transitions in world generation after the generation code changes in an update. | ||||||
| 1.3.1 | ? | Some sections of ice plains biomes were replaced with taiga biomes. | |||||
| 1.7.2 | August 2, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of the mesa biome. He jokingly referred to them as "disco mountains." | |||||
| August 7, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of a mega taiga, unofficially dubbed the redwood forest. The name was changed following 1.7's release. | ||||||
| August 9, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of a stone beach, which was then referred to as a "cliff" biome. | ||||||
| 13w36a | Mesa, mega taiga, roofed forest, birch forest, savanna, extreme hills+, deep ocean and snowless taiga biomes were added as well as variations for many of the biomes. Biomes were also separated by temperature, and snowing was added to extreme hills. | ||||||
| Biomes avoid getting placed next to a biome that is too different from itself, temperature-wise. | |||||||
| The frozen ocean and extreme hills edge biomes no longer generate naturally. | |||||||
| "Adventuring Time" achievement added, but it was broken until 1.8, making the goal of getting all achievements impossible in 1.7. | |||||||
| 1.8 | 14w17a | The End's biome name is now "The End" instead of "Sky". | |||||
| Adventuring Time is now available without commands. Before, the 38 biomes had to be visited without visiting any other biomes, which made the achievement unavailable because the End has to be visited for its prerequisite, The End?. The "no other biomes" restriction is now lifted. | |||||||
| Visiting the frozen ocean and extreme hills edge biomes, which no longer generate since 13w36a, is no longer required for Adventuring Time. | |||||||
| 1.9 | 15w37a | Added new biome "The Void", which is used in superflat preset "The Void". | |||||
| 16w02a | A lot of M type biomes no longer generate due to MC-95612. | ||||||
| 16w03a | M biomes generate again, with the exception of birch forest M (which messes with a lot of other things), see MC-98995. | ||||||
| 1.11 | 16w43a | Birch forest M biomes generate once again. | |||||
| 1.13 | 18w06a | The outer islands of the End biome are now divided up into four separate biomes: The End - floating islands, The End - medium island, The End - high island and The End - barren island. | |||||
| Slightly tweaked the placements of all modified biomes. | |||||||
| 18w08a | Added ocean variants, including warm ocean, lukewarm ocean, cold ocean, warm deep ocean, deep lukewarm ocean, deep cold ocean and deep frozen ocean. | ||||||
| Frozen ocean now generates naturally again, for the first time since 13w36a. | |||||||
| 18w08b | Deep warm ocean biome no longer generates. | ||||||
| 18w16a | Biome names are now translatable. | ||||||
| Cleaned up several biome names, mainly by adding missing spaces and changing "Biome M" for "Mutated Biome". | |||||||
| 18w19a | Names of several biomes are changed. The exact name changes are listed here. | ||||||
| pre5 | Changed several biome IDs, mostly to comply with their names, listed here. | ||||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | Added bamboo jungles. | |||||
| 1.15 | 19w36a | Biome information now stores Y-coordinates, allowing biomes to be changed based on height. However, this is not yet implemented. | |||||
| September 28, 2019 | Nether biomes were shown at Minecon Live 2019. | ||||||
| 1.16 | 20w06a | Implemented vertical biomes in the Nether. | |||||
| Added soul sand valleys, crimson forests and warped forests. | |||||||
| "Nether" biome has been renamed to "Nether Wastes". | |||||||
Added the /locatebiome command that shows the coordinates of the nearest biomes. | |||||||
| 20w15a | Added the basalt deltas. | ||||||
| 20w19a | Tweaked biome distribution in the Nether. | ||||||
| 1.16.2 | 20w28a | Experimental Support for Custom Biomes was added. | |||||
| October 3, 2020 | Cave biomes and new mountains were shown at Minecraft Live 2020. | ||||||
| 1.17 | 20w46a | Biome-specific sky colors now blend more smoothly. | |||||
| 20w49a | Added the dripstone caves biome. Currently accessible only using the buffet world options. | ||||||
| 21w10a | Added the lush caves biome. Currently accessible only using the buffet world options. | ||||||
| October 16, 2021 | New swamps were shown and overhauls for other biomes were hinted at Minecraft Live 2021. | ||||||
| 1.18 | Experimental Snapshot 1 | Implemented multi-noise biome generation in the Overworld. | |||||
| Biomes no longer control the terrain height. | |||||||
| Added the meadow, grove, snowy slopes, lofty peaks and snowcapped peaks biomes. | |||||||
| Dripstone caves, lush caves and deep warm ocean biomes can now generate naturally. | |||||||
| Several variant biomes no longer generate naturally. Affected biomes are listed here. | |||||||
| Swamp does not generate properly. | |||||||
| Experimental Snapshot 2 | Savanna plateau, eroded badlands and ice spikes can now generate naturally once again. | ||||||
| Swamp now generates properly. | |||||||
| Experimental Snapshot 3 | Added the stony peaks biome. | ||||||
| Experimental Snapshot 5 | Jungle edge now generates naturally once again. | ||||||
| 21w40a | Names of several biomes changed. The exact name changes are listed here. | ||||||
| Unused height variation sub-biomes have been removed and merged with their base counterparts. See here for more details. | |||||||
| Non-cave biomes no longer change with height. | |||||||
| Increased biome sizes to better match pre-1.18 sizes. | |||||||
| 21w42a | Beaches are no longer created when a desert borders an ocean.[3] | ||||||
| 21w43a | Removed the deep warm ocean biome. | ||||||
| 1.18.2 | 22w03a | Eroded badlands now require positive weirdness instead of negative weirdness. | |||||
| 22w05a | Temporarily reverted changes to badlands in the previous snapshot. | ||||||
| 1.19 | Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1 | Added the deep dark biome. | |||||
| 22w13a | Eroded badlands once again require positive weirdness instead of negative weirdness. | ||||||
| 22w14a | Added the mangrove swamp biome. | ||||||
| 1.19.4 | 23w03a | The precipitation value of a biome can now only be "true" or "false", meaning whether it rains or snows in a biome is determined only by its temperature.[4] | |||||
| 1.19.4 Experiment | 23w07a | Added the cherry grove biome. | |||||
| 1.20 | 23w12a | Cherry groves are now available without using the "Update 1.20" experimental data pack. | |||||
| 1.21.2 Experiment | 24w40a | Added the pale garden biome. | |||||
| [hide]Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v0.1.0 | Added biomes, these 5 biomes include: snowy tundra, snowy taiga, plains, forest and desert, from Java Edition Alpha v1.2.0. | ||||||
| v0.1.3 | Cacti now generates in deserts. | ||||||
| v0.8.0 | build 1 | The color of the sky now changes slightly depending on the biome. | |||||
| v0.9.0 | build 1 | All biomes as of Java Edition 1.7.2 have been added. These include: Jungles, mesa, roofed forests, savannas, extreme hills, mushroom islands, flower forest, mega taiga, mega spruce taiga, swampland, deep ocean and legacy frozen ocean (unused). | |||||
| Worlds created before this version have had all biomes in them converted into plains. | |||||||
| v0.9.5 | Added bryce mesa, extreme hills+ and jungle M. | ||||||
| v0.10.0 | build 1 | Mesa biomes have gold at every elevation and can generate mineshafts on the surface. | |||||
| Water in swamps is tinted dark gray. | |||||||
| Huge mushrooms generate in swamps. | |||||||
| v0.11.0 | build 1 | Added birch forest M, birch forest hills M, extreme hills M and extreme hills+ M. | |||||
| build 8 | Changed the default biome. | ||||||
| build 10 | Increased the amount of gravel on extreme hills M biome. | ||||||
| v0.12.1 | build 1 | Added the Nether biome. | |||||
| build 10 | Leaves coloring shaders are now used only when the color for a biome actually changes. | ||||||
| v0.16.0 | build 1 | The biomes can now be viewed on maps based on the grass color. | |||||
| [hide]Pocket Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | alpha 0.17.0.1 | Added the End biome. | |||||
| [hide]Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Added snow covers to extreme hills. | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.14.2 | Added warm ocean, lukewarm ocean, cold ocean and their deep variants, including new frozen ocean and frozen deep ocean. | |||||
Old Frozen Ocean id changed to legacy_frozen_ocean to avoid conflict with new frozen ocean names. | |||||||
| 1.9.0 | beta 1.9.0.0 | Added bamboo jungle and bamboo jungle hills biome. | |||||
| 1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.51 | Added soul sand valleys, crimson forests and warped forests. | |||||
| 1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.57 | Added basalt deltas. | |||||
| 1.16.220 | beta 1.16.220.50 | Added lofty peaks, snow capped peaks, snowy slopes, mountain grove and mountain meadow. | |||||
| release | New mountain biomes have been made inaccessible in the full release. | ||||||
| 1.17.0 Experiment | beta 1.17.0.50 | Added dripstone caves and lush caves. | |||||
| 1.18.30 Experiment | beta 1.18.30.28 | Added the deep dark biome. | |||||
| 1.19.80 Experiment | Preview 1.19.80.20 | Added the cherry grove biome. | |||||
| 1.21.50 | Preview 1.21.50.20 | Added the pale garden biome. | |||||
| 1.21.60 | Preview 1.21.60.23 | The vegetation of many Overworld biomes has been updated to more closely match Java Edition. | |||||
| [hide]Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU1 | Added true biomes; they were rainforest, seasonal forest, forest, shrubland, taiga, tundra, savanna, plains, swampland, desert. | ||||||
| TU5 | CU1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added swampland, ice plains, extreme hills and ocean biomes. |
| Removed rainforest, seasonal forest, savanna, shrubland and taiga. | |||||||
| TU7 | Re-added tundra (as ice plains) and added mushroom islands. | ||||||
| TU9 | Re-added beaches and snow in taigas, added hills. | ||||||
| Smoothed color transitions between biomes – swampland grass, foliage and water smoothly transition into other biomes. | |||||||
| TU12 | Added jungle biome. | ||||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Added mesa, mega taiga, roofed forest, birch forest, forest, savanna, extreme hills+, deep ocean, snowless taiga and 20 technical biomes. | |
| Due to limited world sizes, biomes are now downscaled 4x (16x area) in order to fit more biomes in each world (all world sizes). | |||||||
| TU54 | CU44 | 1.52 | 1.52 | 1.52 | Patch 24 | 1.0.4 | Added a Biome Scale Slider. |
| TU69 | 1.76 | 1.76 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Added warm, lukewarm and cold oceans, as well as deep ocean variants for lukewarm, cold and frozen oceans. Frozen oceans now generate naturally again. | ||
| 1.91 | Added bamboo jungles. | ||||||
| [hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
| 0.1.0 | Added biomes including, but not limited to: jungles, savannas, rivers and the Nether.[more information needed] | ||||||
| 1.7.10 | Added the End biome. | ||||||
April Fools biomes
| [hide]Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20w14∞ | Added _generated:id, between, biome for player with no time for nonsense and shapes biomes | ||||||
| 23w13a or b | Added the Moon biome. | ||||||
| 24w14potato | Added the arboretum, corruption, fields, hash, and wasteland biomes. | ||||||
-
An old image of biomes work-in-progress. Biome grass colors have not been implemented at this point.
-
Early draft of the biomes graph, drawn by Notch.
-
The biome graph used in Beta 1.7.3.
-
A map showcasing biome generation in Java Edition Alpha 1.2.
-
Notch took this screenshot while testing the river biome.
-
A biome map tweeted by Notch, showcasing work-in-progress biome generation for Beta 1.8.
-
-
Jeb's second jungle teaser screenshot.
-
A biome map shown by Jeb on instagram.
-
A biome map tweeted by Jeb, showcasing work-in-progress biome generation for Java Edition 1.7.2.
-
A biome map tweeted by Jeb, showcasing slightly larger oceans for the WIP biome system in 1.7.2.
-
This is the first picture provided of the badlands biome (then called mesa).
-
The first image of a giant tree taiga, as tweeted by Jeb.
-
The first image of a stony shore (then called cliff) biome, provided by Jeb.
-
Biome colors template for Java Edition 1.7 and 1.8.
Issues
Issues relating to "Biome" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Trivia
- The term biome is slightly similar to its scientific usage: in the real world, a biome is climatically and geographically defined by distinctive communities of plants, animals and soil organisms supported by similar climatic conditions. They are often referred to as ecosystems.[5][6] Minecraft biomes are defined by all of the blocks that compose them, not just the plants and animals found in them.
- A biome can sometimes generate with an area of only one block.[7]
Gallery
Screenshots
-
Examples of different colors for grass and leaves in different biomes.
-
A village in a flower biome.
-
A dark forest bordering onto a lake.
-
A dark forest biome. The stone variants granite, diorite and andesite can also be seen in the cliff.
-
A large snowy taiga biome, with a beach off to the side.
-
A mountainous mushroom island.
-
A variant of windswept hills, where large swaths of gravel generate.
-
A frozen ocean biome, with fog obscuring the distance.
-
-
A badlands biome as seen from the ground.
-
A badlands lake.
-
A small area of a jungle with desert biome coloring data.
-
A desert with a jungle right beside it.
-
A relatively large island.
-
-
A rare occurrence of a mushroom fields biome touching the mainland.
-
A section of a mushroom island that is a different biome.
-
A rare biome transition of a colder biome touching a warmer biome (e.g. badlands and ice spikes).
-
A badlands and jungle biome generated together. Note the exposed mineshaft in the lower right.
-
A river runs through a flower forest, a sunflower plains, a jungle and a sparse jungle biome.
-
A river that splits off into two rivers.
-
Two windswept hills variants. On the left is a normal windswept hills biome. On the right is windswept forest.
-
Comparison of old growth pine taiga and old growth spruce taiga biomes. Note how the giant spruce trees are much thicker.
-
A cave in a badlands biome.
-
A river biome in Java Edition 1.16, with visible seagrass in it.
-
A dark forest that is cut off by water.
-
A swamp and dark forest connecting.
-
The dripstone caves biome.
-
When 1.7 update was released, old worlds were completely rewritten.
-
Jungle and badlands biome generated next to each other.
-
Village reaching into 3 biomes (jungle, desert and plains).
-
Two large lakes in a plains biome, near a forest biome and a dark forest biome.
-
When savanna meets the snow.
-
With varying terrain, basalt deltas biomes can be hard to navigate.
-
A badlands biome and an ice spikes biome generated next to each other.
-
Biomes connecting in a weird way. Left to right: mangrove swamp, jungle, forest.
-
Biomes connecting in a weird way.
-
Showcase of 1.19 world generation.
-
A forest next to a lukewarm ocean.
-
Mushroom fields and old growth taiga biomes connected together.
-
A mushroom biome connected to a forest biome.
-
A jungle between an ice spikes biome and a taiga.
-
A picture of a jungle taken at dawn.
-
A jungle sunset.
-
The sun setting in a old growth pine taiga.
-
A desert sunrise.
See also
References
- ↑ Jump up to: a b MC-240697 — It snows in the stony shore biomes from Y = 118 and above
- ↑ MCPE-142225 — Dripstone Caves biome temperature is too cold
- ↑ MC-238582 — Beaches generate between desert and ocean — resolved as "Fixed".
- ↑ To fix MC-230678, MC-233893, MC-238904, MC-247836, MC-254132 and MC-255811.
- ↑ "Biome" on Wikipedia
- ↑ "biome" on Dictionary.com
- ↑ MC-69731 — Random 1 block biome generating — resolved as "Won't Fix".
External links
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