Snowy Plains: Difference between revisions

Snowy Plains
Structures	Igloo; Snowy Village; Pillager Outpost
Blocks	Snow; Grass Block; Ice; Spruce Log; Spruce Leaves
Climate
Temperature	0.0
Downfall	0.5
Precipitation	Yes
Colors
Grass color	; #80B497
Foliage color	; #60A17B
Water color	; #3F76E4‌[JE only]; ; #14559B‌[BE only]
Underwater fog color	; #050533‌[JE only]; #14559B‌[BE only]

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Latest revision as of 08:19, 3 April 2025

The snowy plains biomes are snow-covered flat biomes in the Overworld that usually generate near other snowy biomes.

Description[edit | edit source]

Snowy plains are plains covered with snow layers, which are often stacked in Bedrock Edition. Aquifers and springs freeze over soon after generation due to the temperature if not exposed to light; thus, sugar cane that generates alongside water sources often uproot themselves shortly after. Lava lakes and lava springs that generate within the snowy plains biomes melt the snow layers around them. Polar bears, rabbits and strays spawn here; the latter is a variant of the skeleton that shoot arrows of Slowness, making this biome and its variants slightly harder to survive in.

Snowy plains can border plains, snowy taigas, snowy beaches, snowy slopes, and groves. Regular snowy plains are often separated from ice spikes or snow taigas by frozen rivers.

Survival in snowy plains biomes is quite difficult due to the sparseness of the biome and the lack of animals; only polar bears and rabbits may naturally spawn here, though cows, sheep, pigs and horses may spawn as part of villages. Infrequent spruce trees are the only natural source of wood in the regular snowy plains biome and maintaining water sources, for farming crops for example, can be tough due to water in this biome freezing into ice, if it is not protected by light or a roof. Strays often spawn in place of skeletons which can make dealing with hostile mobs even more difficult due to their Slowness arrows, and aggravating polar bears, or even coming near one if accompanied by cubs, can lead to fatal consequences if the player is unprepared. The ice spikes variety can be valuable to late-game players due to the occurrence of ice spikes that can be used for a base or as a source of packed ice blocks.

As the snowy plains is a snow-covered biome, lightning never strikes in these biomes.

Mobs[edit | edit source]

The following mobs naturally spawn here:

In **Java Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Slime^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Zombie	⁹⁵⁄₅₁₅	4
Stray	⁸⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Skeleton	²⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₁₅	1–4
Witch	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
Zombie Villager	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
Creature category
Rabbit	¹⁰⁄₁₁	2–3
Polar Bear	¹⁄₁₁	1–2
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

In **Bedrock Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Slime^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₂₂₀	1
Stray	⁹⁶⁄₂₂₀	1–2
Skeleton	²⁴⁄₂₂₀	1–2
Creature category
Glow Squid	¹⁰⁄₁₅	2–4
Rabbit	⁴⁄₁₅	2–3
Polar Bear	¹⁄₁₅	1–2

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Data values[edit | edit source]

ID[edit | edit source]

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	[hide]Translation key
Snowy plains	`snowy_plains`	`biome.minecraft.snowy_plains`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	[hide]Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`ice_plains`	`12`

Video[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

This article is missing information about: the history of snowy plains in Bedrock.

Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

[hide]Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0			preview				Added biomes, including tundras with oak trees and frozen deserts; these largely supersede the preceding winter mode system.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
1.8			Pre-release				Biomes have now recieved an overhaul, removing the tundra. See here for more details.
[hide]Java Edition
1.0.0			September 15, 2011				Markus Persson teased a screenshot of what he called "snow biomes".^[1]^[2]^[3]
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Re-added tundras as ice plains.
							Tundras have been renamed to ice plains.
							Ice plains contain tall grass.
1.7.2			13w36a				Ice plains no longer contain oak trees. Instead, spruce trees generate.
1.7.2			13w36a				Ice plains are now required for the new "Adventuring Time" achievement.
1.9			15w43a				Added igloos, which now generate in ice plains and snowy taigas.
1.10			16w20a				Polar bears and strays have now added; both now spawn in ice plains.
1.10			16w20a				Ice plains no longer spawn most passive mobs.
1.13			18w19a				Renamed "Ice Plains" to "Snowy Tundra".
1.14			18w49a				Villages can now spawn in snowy tundras. These villages can be composed of packed ice and blue ice.
1.18			21w40a				"Snowy Tundra" has been renamed to "Snowy Plains".
1.20			23w17a				"A Familiar Room" can now be played in snowy plains.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0							Added biomes, which includes small tundras without trees or tall grass.
v0.9.0			build 1				Added the ice plains and ice plains spikes biomes and many others.
v0.9.0			build 1				Added tall grass and spruce trees to ice plains.
v0.13.0			build 1				Added rabbits, which can now spawn in snowy plains biomes.
v0.14.0			build 1				Chickens, cows, pigs and sheep now rarely spawn in snowy plains.
v0.15.0			build 1				Added strays, which can now spawn in snowy plains biomes and variants.
v0.15.0			build 1				Villages can now generate in snowy plains biomes.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Added igloos, which can now generate in snowy plains.
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Added polar bears, which can now spawn in snowy plains biomes and variants.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
?							Chickens, cows, sheep and pigs no longer spawn in snowy plains biomes and variants.
?							Zombies, creepers, spiders, endermen, witches and spider jockeys no longer spawn in snowy plains and snowy mountains biomes.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Added pillager outposts, which can generate in snowy plains biomes.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU5	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added the tundra biome, along with changes to many other biomes.
TU7	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Tundras have been renamed to ice plains.
?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Added the custom superflat biome selection menu, which refers to the biome as "Ice Flats".^{[more information needed]}
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Added igloos and polar bears, which are both features of ice plains.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Added strays, which can now spawn in ice plains.
			1.91				Added pillager outposts, which can generate in snowy tundra biomes.

Data history[edit | edit source]

[hide]Java Edition
1.13	17w47a	If numeric IDs for biomes were ever deprecated, it was most likely in this version.^[verify]
1.13	pre5	Changed the ID `ice_flats` to `snowy_tundra`.
1.18	21w40a	The ID `snowy_tundra` has been changed to `snowy_plains`.

Issues[edit | edit source]

Issues relating to "Snowy Plains" or "Tundra" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Screenshots[edit | edit source]

An Ice Plains biome in Beta 1.9 after it was re-added for the new world generator.
The image teased by Notch of snowy biomes.
An igloo on the shore of a frozen lake, with some polar bears.
A pumpkin patch in snowy plains.
A snowy plains village reaching to the neighboring savanna. There is also a ruined portal nearby.
A sparse jungle and snowy plains generated next to each other.
Monsters in a snowy plains biome at night.
A frozen river running through a snowy plains biome.
A hill terrain in a snowy plains biome.
Several ice biomes in java and bedrock.
A snowy plains.
Mountainous terrain in snowy biomes.
A snowy plains single biome world before 1.18.
The Snowy Village seed template thumbnail.

In other media[edit | edit source]

Ari underneath a snowy plains, as monsters roam above.
Artwork of a snowy village.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "Snow biomes! SNOOOOW!" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 14, 2011
↑ "Pretty! http://imgur.com/5Gsyy?full" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 15, 2011
↑ http://imgur.com/5Gsyy?full

External links[edit | edit source]

"Around the Block: Snowy Tundra" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, October 2, 2020.

Navigation[edit | edit source]

[Slime-1] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[Slime-2] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[3] "Snow biomes! SNOOOOW!" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 14, 2011

[4] "Pretty! http://imgur.com/5Gsyy?full" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 15, 2011

[5] ttp://imgur.com/5Gsyy?full

[note 1]

[note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 |edition=java
 |monster=
-{{Spawn row|Creeper|weight=100|size=1-4}}
+{{Spawn row|Creeper|weight=100|size=4}}
 {{Spawn row|Slime|weight=100|size=4|note=Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.}}
-{{Spawn row|Spider|weight=100|size=1-4}}
+{{Spawn row|Spider|weight=100|size=4}}
 {{Spawn row|Zombie|weight=95|size=4}}
-{{Spawn row|Stray|weight=80|size=1-4}}
+{{Spawn row|Stray|weight=80|size=4}}
-{{Spawn row|Skeleton|weight=20|size=1-4}}
+{{Spawn row|Skeleton|weight=20|size=4}}
-{{Spawn row|Enderman|weight=10|size=2-3}}
+{{Spawn row|Enderman|weight=10|size=1-4}}
 {{Spawn row|Witch|weight=5|size=1}}
 {{Spawn row|Zombie Villager|weight=5|size=1}}
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 {{Spawn row|Bat|weight=10|size=8}}
 |underground=
-{{Spawn row|Glow Squid|weight=10|size=2-4}}
+{{Spawn row|Glow Squid|weight=10|size=4-6}}
 }}