The Nether

A view of a crimson forest with a hoglin and a ghast in the background.

A view of a nether fortress.

The Nether is a dangerous, hell-like dimension containing fire, lava, fungal vegetation, many hostile mobs, and exclusive structures and biomes.

Accessing

"Economy" portal without corners (left), and a full portal (right)

To access the Nether, the player must construct a nether portal in the Overworld (portals created in the End do not activate). To create the portal, the player must first build a rectangular obsidian frame, ranging in size from a minimum of 4 blocks × 5 blocks to a maximum of 23 blocks × 23 blocks. Once the frame is completed, it can then be activated by placing fire within the frame, using flint and steel, fire charge, dispensers, or any material that is capable of igniting fire.

The portal allows most entities (with the exception of the wither and the ender dragon) to be transported to a corresponding portal in the Nether. In Survival, the player must stand in a nether portal for 4 seconds to enter the Nether. The player can step out of a portal before it completes its animation to abort the teleport. The portal plays a sound effect while the player is inside it. If there is no corresponding portal, a new 4×5 portal is created. The portal can be destroyed by breaking the obsidian frame, by a nearby explosion, or by placing water in the Overworld or lava into it with a bucket or dispenser. Any of the blocks in the corners can be destroyed without destroying the portal.

In the former Old‌ world type, it was impossible to construct a nether portal. The portal block had to be placed using cheats. When done, the Nether had the same 256×256 borders as the Overworld, and if a nether portal was then made in the Nether, it could spawn the player outside the world barrier.

If cheats are enabled, players can also teleport to the Nether without using a nether portal: the syntax is /execute in the_nether in Java Edition, and /execute in nether in Bedrock Edition.

Traits

Bedrock forms a rough 5 layer ceiling on top of the nether (starting at y-level 123 and ending at y-level 127) restricting the player from leaving the Nether. Just like the Overworld the player is protected from falling off the world by 5 bottom layers of bedrock (starting at y level 4 and ending at y-level 0) in a rough pattern. This makes the Nether 128 blocks high unlike the Overworld's 384. In the infinite worlds of the Java and Bedrock Editions, the Nether is also horizontally infinite.

In Java Edition, build limit in the Nether is 256 blocks: if the player manages to get on top of the bedrock roof, they can build additional 128 blocks upward on it. In Bedrock Edition, the build limit in the Nether is 128 blocks, despite it being 256 in the End, and 320 in the Overworld.

The Nether has no daylight cycle and no weather. Natural sources of light include fire, lava, portals, shroomlights and glowstone. Even with a light level of 0, the Nether has a dim ambient light (roughly equivalent to light level 8 in the Overworld). Light otherwise functions exactly the same as it does in the Overworld and the End.

The majority of "flora" in the Nether is fungus-based as opposed to plants. The Nether "grass" consists of specialized Nether mycelium (known as "nylium"). The Nether features its own unique fungi (including nether wart), as well as equivalent huge fungi that serve as trees. The stems of the huge fungi function as logs. Also present are a number of native vines and roots.

Most creatures found in the Nether are hostile and potentially dangerous.

Locations in the Nether correlate to Overworld coordinates, but horizontal Overworld distances are scaled down by a ratio of 8:1 for travel in the Nether. Therefore, traveling one block in the Nether means traveling eight blocks in the Overworld. For example, in a perfect scenario, a player who enters a portal in the Overworld at X=0, Z=0 and travels in the Nether to X=1000, Z=1000 returns to the Overworld at X=8000, Z=8000. This makes portals a useful tool for traveling long distances in the Overworld.

Most items and blocks in the Nether function the same as they do in the Overworld, with a few notable exceptions:

• Beds cannot be used as a spawn point; they instead explode and cause fires when a player attempts to sleep in one. It has an explosion power of 5. The explosion is larger than that of TNT, which has an explosion power of 4.
• The player may use a powered respawn anchor to respawn in the Nether, but when it runs out of charges, the player once again respawns in the Overworld.
• There is no way to place liquid water in the Nether without the use of commands, except inside a cauldron. These can be used to put out a player on fire.
  • Using water buckets produces steam particles and a hissing sound, leaving the player with an empty bucket.
  • Ice that is melted or smashed in the Nether does not produce water.
  • A wet sponge instantly becomes a regular sponge when placed.
  • If placed using cheats or when placed inside a cauldron, water takes on a reddish-brown color.‌
• Lava flows twice as far (eight blocks) and three times as fast in the Nether compared to Overworld, with the same flowing distance and half the flowing speed of water in the Overworld.
• Grass blocks and leaves take on a dead-looking brownish color because the Nether is dry and hot.
• Maps generate a brown-gray static pattern. The player's direction indicator spins randomly; its location is still relative to the player's location in the Nether, except in the New Nintendo 3DS Edition, where it is always in the center of the map. Usable significantly for lava ocean travel via a strider. Putting the map in the off-hand minimizes the map to help see one's strider footing.
• Clocks spin wildly, making it impossible to tell the time while in the Nether. Compasses also spin wildly unless connected to a lodestone, which they then point toward.
• Snow golems rapidly take fire damage and die, due to the Nether being dry and hot. However, they can survive if they have the Fire Resistance status effect.
• Stalactites produce lava particles instead of water particles, and do not convert mud above them into clay.

Environment

The Nether features unique cave-like terrain with no sky. Lava and fire are common hazards everywhere in the Nether. Areas distant from the player are shrouded in fog of red or blue, depending on the biome. The shape of the terrain in the Nether is independent of the biome distribution; instead, the biome alters the surface material and adds terrain features to the netherrack terrain.

Biomes

The Nether is divided into several biomes just like the Overworld, each featuring unique terrain, mobs, structures, ambience, etc. There are currently five biomes in the Nether:

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.	Nether wastes
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.	Soul sand valley
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.	Crimson forest
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.	Warped forest
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, and ghasts are also common. This biome also contains a much higher abundance of blackstone compared to other Nether biomes.	Basalt deltas

Biome distribution in Java Edition 1.21.4

Nether Wastes is the most common Nether biome, while Warped Forest is the rarest.

Biome	Frequency
Nether Wastes	36.30%
Crimson Forest	22.22%
Soul Sand Valley	17.08%
Basalt Deltas	15.86%
Warped Forest	8.54%

Generated structures

The Nether contains a variety of unique generated structures. Though equally vast, it contains far fewer types of generated structures than there is in the Overworld.

There are currently 4 generated structures in The Nether:

Name	Description	Image
Nether fortress	Nether fortresses are large, castle-like structures that are composed of nether bricks. This structure is often found bridging over lava seas, or tunnelling through netherrack. This structure is the only place where blazes and wither skeletons spawn, making fortresses the gateway to both bosses in the game: the ender dragon and the wither. Fortresses also contain blaze monster spawners, as well as small nether wart farms. Nether fortresses can be found in all Nether biomes.
Nether fossil	Nether fossils are structures comprised of bone blocks that generate within the soul sand valley biome. These structures have 14 different designs. Unlike fossils in the Overworld, coal ore does not generate within these fossils. There's a possibility that a dried ghast can be spotted beneath Nether fossils.
Bastion remnant	Bastion remnants are large fortifications made up of blackstone, blackstone bricks and basalt. A large amount of gold blocks and loot chests can be found within these structures. They generate in four distinct variants, each with its own unique structure and loot. They are inhabited by piglins and piglin brutes, and in certain variants hoglins as well. These structures generate within any Nether biome except for the basalt deltas.
Ruined portal	A structure containing what appears to be a destroyed nether portal and various types of stone or blackstone materials, when generating in the Overworld or the Nether, respectively. Netherrack generates on the ground around the portal, and a chest containing loot generates with the structure. These structures can be found in any Overworld and Nether biome.

Terrain features

The Nether has a lot of different terrain features that generate within the biomes of the Nether.

There are currently 5 terrain features in The Nether

Name	Description	Image
Lava sea	Lava seas generate at and below level 31 in all Nether biomes. Striders can be found striding across these seas.
Glowstone blob	Glowstone blobs generate on the ceiling of the Nether in all biomes.
Basalt pillar	Basalt pillars generate in soul sand valley biomes and on the lava seas present there.
Delta	Deltas are sheets of constrained lava and magma blocks found among the terrain of basalt deltas biomes.
Hidden lava	Single blocks of lava are buried within netherrack in all Nether biomes. These are particularly dangerous when mining in the Nether, as the lava can quickly flow out and overwhelm the player when uncovered.

Mobs

The Nether is home to its own share of mobs, most of which are immune to fire and lava. Skeletons, chickens, and endermen are the only Overworld mobs that can naturally spawn in the Nether; in Java Edition, baby zombified piglins may spawn as chicken jockeys.

Other Overworld mobs do not naturally spawn in the Nether but can be teleported through portals (with the exception of withers and the ender dragon).

There are currently 12(Java or Bedrock edition only) or 13(total) mobs in this dimension:

Blaze	Chicken jockey ‌	Enderman	Ghast	Hoglin	Magma cube

Piglin	Piglin brute	Skeleton	Strider	Wither skeleton	Zombified piglin

Blocks

Naturally generated

Naturally generated blocks includes those that are created through the world seed.

• Air
• Ancient Debris
• Basalt
• Bedrock
• Blackstone
• Fire
• Crimson Fungus
• Warped Fungus
• Glowstone
• Gravel
• Lava
• Magma Block
• Brown Mushroom
• Red Mushroom
• Nether Gold Ore
• Nether Quartz Ore
• Nether Sprouts
• Netherrack
• Crimson Nylium
• Warped Nylium
• Crimson Roots
• Warped Roots
• Shroomlight
• Soul Fire
• Soul Sand
• Soul Soil
• Crimson Stem
• Warped Stem
• Twisting Vines
• Twisting Vines Plant
• Weeping Vines
• Weeping Vines Plant
• Nether Wart Block
• Warped Wart Block

Naturally created

Naturally created blocks are created through a combination of events that lead these blocks to be placed by natural causes, not by the player.

• Air
• Lava
• Brown Mushroom
• Red Mushroom
• Nether Portal
• Netherrack‌
• Obsidian
• Twisting Vines
• Twisting Vines Plant
• Weeping Vines
• Weeping Vines Plant

Structures

These blocks are only generated as part of nether fortresses, bastion remnants and ruined portals, when the "generated structures" option is on.

• Polished Basalt
• Blackstone Slab
• Blackstone Stairs
• Blackstone Wall
• Gilded Blackstone
• Polished Blackstone
• Polished Blackstone Slab
• Polished Blackstone Stairs
• Polished Blackstone Bricks
• Polished Blackstone Brick Slab
• Polished Blackstone Brick Stairs
• Polished Blackstone Brick Wall
• Cracked Polished Blackstone Bricks
• Chiseled Polished Blackstone
• Bone Block
• Block of Gold
• Chain
• Chest
• Crying Obsidian
• Lantern
• Monster Spawner
• Nether Bricks
• Nether Brick Fence
• Nether Brick Stairs
• Nether Wart
• Obsidian
• Block of Quartz
• Smooth Quartz Block
• Smooth Quartz Slab

Technical information

ID

Name	Identifier	[hide]Numeric ID
Nether	the_nether	-1

Folder

In Java Edition, the Nether is stored in .minecraft/saves/worldname/DIM-1. Deleting this folder resets the Nether, so that all player-made changes and buildings in that dimension are undone.

In Bedrock Edition, the com.mojang/minecraftWorlds/world ID/db folder contains several collections of chunks. Some of these files are used for the Nether, but it is impossible to tell which ones simply by reading the file name.

Achievements

[hide]
Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Cover me in debris	Wear a full set of Netherite armor	Have a full set of Netherite armor in your inventory.	50	Gold
		Hot tourist destination	Visit all Nether biomes	The achievement can be completed if one visit biomes in different worlds.	30	Silver
		Into The Nether	Construct a Nether Portal.	Light a nether portal.	30	Bronze
		Oooh, shiny!	Distract a Piglin using gold	Give a piglin a gold item while it is aggressive toward the player.	30	Silver

Advancements

There is a tab dedicated to the Nether in the advancement system, all involving visiting the Nether in some way in order to advance.

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	A Furious Cocktail	Have every potion effect applied at the same time	Have all of these 17 status effects applied to the player at the same time:[hide] The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement.
	A Terrible Fortress	Break your way into a Nether Fortress	Enter a nether fortress.
	Bring Home the Beacon	Construct and place a Beacon	Be within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it has become powered.
	How Did We Get Here?	Have every effect applied at the same time	Have all of these 33 status effects applied to the player at the same time:[hide] The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement. This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
	Into Fire	Relieve a Blaze of its rod	Have a blaze rod in the inventory.
	Local Brewery	Brew a Potion	Pick up an item from a brewing stand potion slot. This does not need to be a potion. Water bottles or even glass bottles can also trigger this advancement.
	Nether	Bring summer clothes	Enter the Nether dimension.
	Return to Sender	Destroy a Ghast with a fireball	Kill a ghast by deflecting a ghast fireball back into it via hitting or shooting a projectile at the fireball.
	Spooky Scary Skeleton	Obtain a Wither Skeleton's skull	Have a wither skeleton skull in the inventory.
	Subspace Bubble	Use the Nether to travel 7 km in the Overworld	Use the Nether to travel between 2 points in the Overworld with a minimum horizontal euclidean distance of 7000 blocks between each other, which is 875 blocks in the Nether.
	Uneasy Alliance	Rescue a Ghast from the Nether, bring it safely home to the Overworld... and then kill it	Kill a Ghast while being in the Overworld.
	Withering Heights	Summon the Wither	Be within a 100.9×100.9×103.5 cuboid centered on the wither when it is spawned.
	Beaconator	Bring a Beacon to full power	Be within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it is being powered by a size 4 pyramid.
	Cover Me in Debris	Get a full suit of Netherite armor	Have a full set of netherite armor in the inventory.
	Hidden in the Depths	Obtain Ancient Debris	Have an ancient debris in the inventory.
	Hot Tourist Destinations	Explore all Nether biomes	Visit all of the 5 following biomes: The advancement is only for Nether biomes. Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.
	Is It a Balloon?	Look at a Ghast through a Spyglass	—
	Not Quite "Nine" Lives	Charge a Respawn Anchor to the maximum	—
	Oh Shiny	Distract Piglins with gold	While aggravated, give a piglin one of these 25 gold-related items in the #piglin_loved item tag:[hide] The player must not be wearing any gold armor. Other gold-related items do not distract the piglin and do not trigger this advancement.
	This Boat Has Legs	Ride a Strider with a Warped Fungus on a Stick	Use a warped fungus on a stick while riding a strider, decreasing its durability.
	Those Were the Days	Enter a Bastion Remnant	—
	War Pigs	Loot a Chest in a Bastion Remnant	Open a naturally generated, never-before opened chest containing one of the bastion chest loot tables.
	We Need to Go Deeper	Build, light and enter a Nether Portal	Enter the Nether dimension.

History

[hide]Java Edition Indev
0.31			20100107				Added a map theme named "Hell". It was a normal map, but with a lava ocean, perpetually dim lighting, and a black sky with dull red clouds.
[hide]Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414							Map themes, including Hell, have been removed.
20100327							The defunct map theme button has been removed from the interface.
[hide]Java Edition Alpha
September 18, 2010							Notch mentions the return of the hell biome, and that it can be used for fast travel, based on a transportation method used in the novel series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Within a dangerous transportation system, "the Ways", people could travel a massive amount of distance in a few days instead of weeks.
v1.2.0			October 4, 2010				This announcement poster hinted that the hell world would utilize portals and that distance traveled inside the hell world would be multiplied greatly on the map above ground.
			October 8, 2010				Notch reveals a new block type, now known as soul sand, that would be included in the new dimension.
			October 10, 2010				A screenshot was released by Notch depicting what the Nether would look like.
			October 11, 2010				Notch makes mention of the first mob to be added to the Nether, saying "You will hate the Ghast."
			October 25, 2010				Notch tweets that he is working on the second new Nether mob, and says that they are less dangerous but are otherwise "pointless."
			October 29, 2010				Notch was conflicted on naming the new dimension; he wanted to avoid "re-using existing religious names", and wanted to use a more creative and original name. He considered both "the Slip" and "the Nexus" but felt that neither felt "[M]inecrafty enough". It was eventually changed to "the Nether" on the day of the Halloween Update release.
			preview				A preview of the Halloween Update was sent out to two gaming websites later that day. The name "the Slip" was used in this release as a placeholder.
							Added the Nether, including ghasts, zombie pigmen, netherrack, soul sand, glowstone, and nether portals.
v1.2.2							Lava was made to flow farther than it did on the Overworld.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
May 2, 2011							Portals were made to function properly in multiplayer, allowing players in servers to teleport between the Overworld and the Nether.
1.6			Test Build 3				Beds in the Nether were made to explode if used.
							The Nether now finally works in multiplayer.
[hide]Java Edition
1.0.0			September 16, 2011				Jens Bergensten tweets a teaser screenshot of changes to the Nether terrain generation, including nether fortresses.
			September 19, 2011				Jens releases a second teaser screenshot, showcasing the structure of the upcoming nether fortresses.
			September 21, 2011				Jens mentions that he is finished with most of the new Nether features, including two new mobs, one of which is a "retexturing attempt".
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Many new additions to the Nether, including: magma cubes, blazes (as well as blaze monster spawners and blaze rods), nether fortresses (including nether bricks, nether brick stairs and nether brick fences), nether wart, ghast tears dropped by ghasts and gold nuggets dropped by zombie pigmen.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4				With the addition of the Silk Touch enchantment, it was possible to legitimately obtain water using ice in the Nether.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5				The ability to pick up ice blocks with the Silk Touch enchantment was removed.
1.2.1			12w03a				Fog in the Nether now appears closer to the player.
			12w06a				Snow golems now take damage in the Nether.
			12w07a				The build limit has been increased from 128 to 256, allowing players to build on top of the roof.
1.3.1			12w16a				Added the /give command. Using it to get water or flowing_water blocks allows another way to place water in the Nether.
			12w17a				Ice can now be obtained with Silk Touch again, but ice no longer melts into water in the Nether.
			12w22a				Rarely, nether portals spawn zombie pigmen.
			12w27a				Growing nether wart is no longer restricted to the Nether – it can be grown in the Overworld and the End.
1.4.2			12w32a				Zombie pigmen can wear armor, and the sword they are holding makes them deal more damage.
			12w34a				Any mobs and entities can travel through nether portals.
			12w36a				Added wither skeletons.
1.4.6			12w49a				Added nether brick slabs.
1.5			13w01a				Nether quartz ore is added to the Nether, which spawns around netherrack.
			13w02a				Lava flows more quickly in the Nether, and hidden lava can be found in the Nether.
1.6.1			13w18a				Chests can now be found in nether fortresses.
2013 Music Update							Four music tracks added for the Nether, including "Concrete Halls", "Dead Voxel", "Warmth" and "Ballad of the Cats".
1.7.2			13w37a				Added the /setblock command that can place water in the Nether.
1.8			14w03a				Added the /fill command that can place water in the Nether.
			14w25a				Removed the item forms of water. The /give command can no longer be used to get water in the Nether because water can no longer exist in inventories (just as a placed block). /setblock or /fill should be used in place of /give.
1.9			15w31a				Removed the Nether fog.
			15w31c				Re-added the Nether fog.
			15w49a				The wither and ender dragon no longer travel through portals.
1.10			16w20a				Endermen now rarely spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
							Added magma blocks.
							Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
1.13			18w06a				Vertical air cavities, stretching from bedrock level as far as Y=35 and filled with lava to Y=10, now occur in chains across the bottom of the Nether, often forming extensive canyons.
			18w19a				The biome "Hell" has been renamed to "Nether".
			pre5				The biome ID of the Nether has been changed from hell to nether.
1.14			18w43a				Added nether brick walls and red nether brick slabs, stairs and walls.
			19w14a				Soul sand and gravel now generate around lava sea level instead of between y level 60 and 65.
1.16			20w06a				Added 3 new biomes to the Nether, the crimson forest, warped forest and soul sand valley, while renaming the original Nether biome to nether wastes.
							Added ancient debris, a rare ore that generates in the Nether.
							Added hoglins, which spawn exclusively in the crimson forest in the Nether.
			20w07a				Added piglins, which spawn in both the crimson forest and nether wastes in the Nether.
			20w09a				Changed the ambient lighting in the Nether, it is now much darker
			20w10a				Added ambience to the Nether.
			20w11a				Added twisting vines to the warped forest biome in the Nether.
							Added nether gold ore to the Nether.
			20w13a				Added striders, which spawn on lava lakes.
			20w15a				Added the basalt deltas biome to the Nether.
							Added 3 new music tracks including: "Chrysopoeia", "Rubedo" and "So Below".
			20w16a				Added bastion remnants to the Nether.
							Added ruined portals, which can generate in the Nether.
1.16.2			20w27a				Added piglin brutes, which spawn in bastion remnants.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
April 22, 2015							Tommaso Checchi tweets a picture of the Nether, showing that it is officially in development.
							He later tweets a refusal to state how finished it is or the planned version.
v0.12.1			build 1				Added the Nether.
							Water can be placed in the Nether by breaking ice.
			build 6				Lava now spreads faster in the Nether.
v0.15.0			build 1				Endermen can now spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
v0.16.0			build 1				Water cannot be placed in the Nether without inventory editing or using commands.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.0.0							Four music tracks added for the Nether, including "Concrete Halls", "Dead Voxel", "Warmth" and "Ballad of the Cats".
1.1.3			alpha 1.1.3.0				Added magma blocks.
							Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.51				Added 3 new biomes to the Nether, the crimson forest, warped forest and soul sand valley.
							Added ancient debris, a rare ore that generates in the Nether.
							Added hoglins and piglins, hoglins spawn exclusively in the crimson forest in the Nether, while piglins spawn in both the crimson forest and nether wastes in the Nether.
			beta 1.16.0.57				Added ambience to the Nether.
							Added nether gold ore to the Nether.
							Added striders, which spawn on lava lakes.
							Added the basalt deltas biome to the Nether.
							Added 3 new music tracks including: "Chrysopoeia", "Rubedo" and "So Below".
							Added bastion remnants to the Nether.
							Added ruined portals, which can generate in the Nether.
							Gravel and blackstone patch can now generate below lava sea level in the Nether.
1.16.20			beta 1.16.20.50				Added piglin brutes, which spawn in bastion remnants.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added the Nether.
TU9							Added new music to the Nether.
							Added nether fortresses.
							Added Reset Nether option to force regeneration of the Nether. This is helpful for older saves that didn't have a nether fortress.
TU12							The build limit has been increased from 128 to 256, allowing players to build on top of the roof.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Endermen can now spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
							Added magma blocks.
							Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted, but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added the Nether.
1.3.12							Improved view distance.

Issues

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

Trivia

• Upon entering the Nether as a single player, the passage of time freezes in the Overworld and resumes when the player returns unless the /forceload command is used. This is due to the spawn chunks no longer being ticked, and not chunks loading and unloading as some players believe. The spawn chunks are kept loaded when there are no players in the Overworld, but most things other than basic redstone stop working.
• Names considered for the Nether included "Inferno", "the Ways", "the Nexus", and "the Core". During development, the names "Hell" and "the Slip" were used as placeholders.
• The numbers for the 3 dimensions are -1=the Nether, 0=Overworld, 1=the End. This contributes to a misconception that the Nether is "below" the Overworld.
  • Notch described the "Nether" as a metaphorical name, rather than a reference to the actual physical location of the dimension.
  • Dinnerbone has also confirmed that they are simply separate dimensions.
• In Bedrock Edition, if a section of the bedrock ceiling is removed (e.g., through commands) mobs can spawn directly below where the ceiling should be, despite the surface density cap in the Nether being 0.
• In Legacy Console Edition, the size of the Nether is limited, with bedrock walls surrounding it on all sides. The Overworld-Nether ratio varies depending on the world size: it is 1:3 for Classic and Small worlds, 1:6 for Medium worlds, and 1:8 (the same as Java and Bedrock editions) for Large worlds.
• The crimson and warped forest biomes are suggested to decontaminate the Nether environment from potential landfill pollution that coincides with the presence of ancient debris.

Gallery

Screenshots

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  View of a nether fortress.

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  View of a nether fortress in basalt deltas.

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  View of nether fortresses with a blaze monster spawner.

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  A large, spreading stream of lava in the Nether.

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  Ghasts are not harmed by lava or fire.

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  Bedrock naturally exposed in the Nether.

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  Using a map in the Nether causes the player's position indicator to rotate, but any markers do not.

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  A hidden lava source block uncovered.

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  Mushrooms naturally generated above the Nether.

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  The magma block naturally generated in the Nether.

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  A Nether canyon.

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  Gravel in the Nether.

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  The Nether in the Overworld, generated using Buffet.

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  The junction of all biomes in the Nether.

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  The basalt deltas, one of the five new biomes in the Nether.

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  The Nether ceiling, which is a vast endless plane of bedrock with a red sky of the void.

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  View of a soul sand valley.

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  Brightened version of the previous screenshot.

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  View of the crimson forest.

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  Brightened.

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  View of the basalt deltas.

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  Brightened.

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  View of the warped forest.

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  Brightened.

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  An intersection of four different nether biomes.

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  Historically there have been many glitches enabling water to be placed in the Nether.

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  The Far Lands in the Nether.

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  The Far Lands exposing the Nether roof.

Development images

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  The first screenshot released by Notch showing what the Nether would look like.

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  The first screenshot released by Jeb in September 2011 of nether fortresses.

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  Brightened version of the previous screenshot.

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  Another early view of a nether fortress Jeb released in September 2011.

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  Brightened.

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  The Nether as it appeared prior to Beta 1.8.

In other media

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  Artwork of Alex in the Nether.

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  Sunny using a piglin head on a note block in a crimson forest.

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  Nether Wastes as they appear in Minecraft Dungeons.

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  Efe in the Nether, from Minecraft Annual 2025.

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  A Lego Minecraft Micro World set of the Nether.

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  A minifigure-scale LEGO Minecraft set of the Nether.

External links

• Visit the Nether! by Duncan Geere — Minecraft.net on October 11, 2019
• Nightmares in the Nether by Kelsey Howard — Minecraft.net on June 9, 2020
• The Nether and I by Sofia Dankis — Minecraft.net on June 14, 2020
• A briefish history of the Nether by Sofia Dankis — Minecraft.net on March 8, 2021
• "Minecraft: The Great Wild | The Nether" – Minecraft on YouTube, August 26, 2023