River

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This article is about the regular variant of the river. For the frozen river, see Frozen River.
River
River.png: Infobox image for River the biome in Minecraft
Features

Disk

Blocks

Water
Grass Block
Dirt
Clay
Sand
Gravel
Sugar cane
Seagrass
Bush
Firefly Bush

Climate

Temperature

0.5

Downfall

0.5

Precipitation

Yes

Colors

Grass color


 #8EB971

Foliage color


 #71A74D

Water color


 #3F76E4‌[JE only]

 #0084FF‌[BE only] 

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    "title": "River",
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            "label": "Climate"
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        },
        {
            "field": "0.5",
            "label": "(link to Biome#Downfall article, displayed as Downfall)"
        },
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            "field": "Yes",
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        },
        {
            "field": "",
            "label": "Colors"
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            "field": "<span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #8EB971; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #8EB971</span>",
            "label": "Grass color"
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            "label": "Foliage color"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #3F76E4; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #3F76E4</span>‌<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Java Edition\">(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE)  only</span></i>]</sup><br><span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #0084FF; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #0084FF</span>‌<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Bedrock Edition\">(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE)  only</span></i>]</sup>",
            "label": "Water color"
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    "invimages": [],
    "images": [
        "River.png"
    ]
}

A river is a common biome. Rivers can serve as borders between various other biomes, and usually lead to oceans, although they can also form loops.

Description[edit | edit source]

Rivers are thin, lengthy biomes that frequently generate across the Overworld, making up about 6.2% of the Overworld's area. They typically serve as a division between two different biomes, but can also split a single biome in two. They are filled with water up to sea level, though rivers may run dry in certain areas due to higher than usual elevation. Saddle valleys in mountains can generate rivers, but often too high so that there's not any water. Rivers can vary a lot in width and depth, in generally flat areas rivers are usually around 10 blocks deep but in mountainous regions rivers can reach over 30 blocks in depth which is comparable to deep oceans. Sometimes rivers can also generate as lakes with small islands. Rivers often make giant loops as well, due to a quirk in the terrain generator.

Salmon and squid may spawn here. Along the riverbanks, occasional bushes and firefly bushes can be found, and sugar cane grows adjacent to water. Exposed grass takes on a bluish-green hue, similar to the meadow and birch forest biomes, and oak trees can rarely generate where there is available space. Riverbeds consist of dirt, sand, gravel, and clay, and are one of the few places where clay generates, alongside lakes, swamp marshes, ocean hilltops, and lush caves. Atop the riverbed, seagrass commonly grows.

Neither passive nor hostile‌[BE only] mobs (except drowned) spawn within river biomes themselves, but frequently wander into them from the surrounding biomes if they can spawn there. Drowned can spawn underwater, as can salmon and squid.

Mobs[edit | edit source]

The following mobs are naturally spawned here：

In Java Edition
MobSpawn weightGroup size
Monster category
Creeper100⁄6154
Drowned100⁄6151
Skeleton100⁄6154
Slime[note 1]100⁄6154
Spider100⁄6154
Zombie95⁄6154
Enderman10⁄6151–4
Witch5⁄6151
Zombie Villager5⁄6151
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid14–6
Water creature category
Squid11–4
Water ambient category
Salmon11–5
Ambient category
Bat18
  1. ↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks. 
{ "hasNotes": true, "notes": { "Slime": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks." }, "1": { "totalWeight": 615, "mobs": [ { "size": "4", "mob": "Creeper", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Drowned", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Skeleton", "weight": 100 }, { "note": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "mob": "Slime", "weight": 100, "notename": "Slime", "size": "4" }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Spider", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Zombie", "weight": 95 }, { "size": "1-4", "mob": "Enderman", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Witch", "weight": 5 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Zombie Villager", "weight": 5 } ], "category": "monster" }, "2": { "totalWeight": 10, "mobs": [ { "size": "4-6", "mob": "Glow Squid", "weight": 10 } ], "category": "underground" }, "3": { "totalWeight": 2, "mobs": [ { "size": "1-4", "mob": "Squid", "weight": 2 } ], "category": "watercreature" }, "4": { "totalWeight": 5, "mobs": [ { "size": "1-5", "mob": "Salmon", "weight": 5 } ], "category": "waterambient" }, "5": { "totalWeight": 10, "mobs": [ { "size": "8", "mob": "Bat", "weight": 10 } ], "category": "ambient" } }
In Bedrock Edition
MobSpawn weightGroup size
Monster category
Creeper100⁄6151
Drowned100⁄6152–4
Skeleton100⁄6152
Slime[note 1]100⁄6151
Spider100⁄6151
Zombie95⁄6154
Enderman10⁄6152–3
Witch5⁄6151
Zombie Villager5⁄6152–4
Creature category
Glow Squid10⁄182–4
Squid8⁄182
Water creature category
Salmon13–5
  1. ↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks. 
{ "hasNotes": true, "notes": { "Slime": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks." }, "1": { "totalWeight": 615, "mobs": [ { "size": "1", "mob": "Creeper", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Drowned", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "2", "mob": "Skeleton", "weight": 100 }, { "note": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "mob": "Slime", "weight": 100, "notename": "Slime", "size": "1" }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Spider", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Zombie", "weight": 95 }, { "size": "2-3", "mob": "Enderman", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Witch", "weight": 5 }, { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Zombie Villager", "weight": 5 } ], "category": "monster" }, "2": { "totalWeight": 18, "mobs": [ { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Glow Squid", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "2", "mob": "Squid", "weight": 8 } ], "category": "creature" }, "3": { "totalWeight": 16, "mobs": [ { "size": "3-5", "mob": "Salmon", "weight": 16 } ], "category": "watercreature" } }

Data values[edit | edit source]

ID[edit | edit source]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifier[hide]Translation key
BiomeSprite river.png: Sprite image for river in Minecraft Riverriverbiome.minecraft.river

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifier[hide]Numeric ID
BiomeSprite river.png: Sprite image for river in Minecraft [No displayed name]river7

History[edit | edit source]

This section is missing information about: Legacy Console Edition.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
August 18, 2011Notch tweeted a screenshot of a revamped river biome.
1.8Pre-releaseAdded rivers as a separate biome. Previously, were generated as part of the terrain generation algorithm.
[hide]Java Edition
1.7.213w36aRiver is now required for the new "Adventuring Time" achievement.
1.1318w08bAdded salmon, which spawn in rivers.
18w11aAdded drowned, which spawn in rivers.
18w14aSeagrass now generates in rivers.
1.13.118w31aSquid now spawn only in oceans and rivers, making them slightly more common in rivers, as there are fewer places elsewhere for them to spawn.
1.18experimental snapshot 4River biomes are less likely to form a steep, dry river gorge in mountainous terrain. Instead, they either carve a fjord through it, or they raise the terrain to form a valley.
Rivers that go through swamps tend to be more shallow.
experimental snapshot 5Rivers are less likely to be super deep or get choked off in flat areas.
Rivers tend to get shallow and merge with swamps instead of carving through them.
1.21.525w05aAdded bushes and firefly bushes, which can generate in rivers.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0Added biomes, including rivers.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.2.13beta 1.2.13.8Added drowned, which spawn in river biomes.
1.4.0beta 1.2.14.2Added salmon, which spawn in rivers.
Rivers now generate with seagrass.
1.13.0beta 1.13.0.9Squid can now spawn in rivers.
1.21.70
Experiment
Drop 1 2025		Preview 1.21.70.20Added bushes and firefly bushes, which can generate in rivers.
  • The first image of a river released by Notch.

    The first image of a river released by Notch.

Data history[edit | edit source]

[hide]Java Edition
1.1317w47aIf numeric IDs for biomes were ever deprecated, it was most likely in this version.[verify]

Issues[edit | edit source]

Issues relating to "River" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Rivers override ravines at or close to the surface level, causing the ravine to be abruptly cut off by a wall of stone. However, if the ravine is long enough, it may continue on the other side of the river.
    • Ravines can generate underground in river biomes without being cut off.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Screenshots[edit | edit source]

  • A river biome before The Update that Changed the World.

    A river biome before The Update that Changed the World.

  • A river near two forests.

    A river near two forests.

  • A narrow river.

    A narrow river.

  • A river separating a desert and a forest.

    A river separating a desert and a forest.

  • Rivers splitting and cutting through a taiga.

    Rivers splitting and cutting through a taiga.

  • A river running through a desert.

    A river running through a desert.

  • A river running between a forest and windswept hills, with a sunset in the background.

    A river running between a forest and windswept hills, with a sunset in the background.

  • A river in Java Edition 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1.

    A river in Java Edition 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1.

  • A river that failed to generate properly due to a nearby mountain.

    A river that failed to generate properly due to a nearby mountain.

  • A circular river surrounding a small plains biome.

    A circular river surrounding a small plains biome.

  • A river running through a swamp.

    A river running through a swamp.

  • A big river.

    A big river.

  • A river single biome world before 1.18.

    A river single biome world before 1.18.

  • A river connected to a large lake in a jungle.

    A river connected to a large lake in a jungle.

  • A big river flowing past a village.

    A big river flowing past a village.

  • A big river flowing past a village.

    A big river flowing past a village.

  • A river next to a cherry grove.

    A river next to a cherry grove.

  • Traveling by boat through a river.

    Traveling by boat through a river.

  • A river flowing through a dark forest.

    A river flowing through a dark forest.

  • A weird "river" in the middle of a mesa.

    A weird "river" in the middle of a mesa.

  • Ditto, but with f3 screen for proof.

    Ditto, but with f3 screen for proof.

  • The Winding River seed template thumbnail.

    The Winding River seed template thumbnail.

In other media[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Navigation[edit | edit source]

[hide]
Biomes
Retrieved from "https://minecraft.wiki/w/River?oldid=2925294"