Biome

Biomes are regions in a Minecraft world with varying geographical features, flora, heights, temperatures, humidity ratings, sky colours and foliage colours. Biomes separate every generated world into different environments, paralleling the real world; examples of biomes include the forest, jungle, desert and tundra.

Biome types

There are 12 main biome types and a number of technical biomes. Main biomes can be distinguished by the grass and leaf colors in the biome, along with the types of blocks present (e.g. types of trees or other plants like cacti, sand coverage in deserts). Biomes are pseudo-randomly generated using the map seed. Technical biomes provide smoother transitions between main biome types, or introduce extra custom features within a main biome, such as rivers, beaches, hills and border areas.

Name and Features	Description and Pros/Cons
Forest Oak and Birch Trees, Flowers, Wolves, Red Mushrooms	A biome with a lot of trees, occasional hills and a fair amount of grass. Oak and birch trees grow in this biome. Red mushrooms, tall grass, roses and flowers can occasionally be found. Forests can occasionally be generated as a technical biome in plains biomes. Forest biomes are one of the smallest biomes.
	Trees provide an excellent source of wood, especially for smelting (oak and birch logs have the highest burn times) Along with taiga, one of the two biomes with wolves	Trees can provide shelter and cover for zombies and skeletons Wolves can be dangerous when they get hungry
Desert Sand, Cacti, Dead Bushes, Sandstone, Sugar Cane, Desert wells, Desert Temple, Villages	A barren biome consisting mostly of sand, large dunes, dead bushes and cacti. Sandstone is commonly found underneath the sand. Rain never falls in this biome. Desert NPC Villages, desert wells and desert temples are found exclusively in this biome.
	Since there are no storms, wind mills will never break gear boxes Flat terrain and lack of obstructions leads to excellent visibility The only biome with desert temples Along with plains, one of the two biomes with villages	Sand is difficult to walk in, making it slow to traverse Placing or breaking blocks can occasionally trigger a sink hole if there is floating sand over a large pit No animals spawn Water will only hydrate farmland in a 2-block radius, not 4 like in other biomes
Plains Tall Grass, Grass, Flowers, Pumpkins, Villages	A relatively flat biome with rolling hills and much tall grass but with few trees. Gullies, water holes, pumpkins, and villages are common. Passive mobs spawn here often. Cave openings and water or lava springs are easily identifiable due to its unobstructed terrain.
	Great visibility for ease in finding caves, avoiding mobs, and hunting animals The only biome with pumpkins Along with desert, one of the two biomes with villages	Abundance of tall grass makes it slow to traverse (tall grass can be destroyed, but at the cost of hunger unless using an iron or better axe)
Swampland Witch Huts, Oak Trees, Grass, Vines, Lily Pads, Clay, Red Mushrooms, Slimes, Sugar Cane	A biome characterized by a mix of flat, dry areas (including lots of small islands) around the sea level and shallow pools of water with floating lily pads. Clay, sand and dirt are commonly found at the bottom of these pools. Trees are often covered with vines and can be found growing out from the water. Red mushrooms spawn abundantly in this biome. Stalks of sugar cane can be found along the shores. The colors of the water, grass, leaves and vines are much darker than in other biomes. Witch huts spawn in swamps. Slimes and witches will also spawn naturally during the night.
	Along with jungle, one of the two biomes with sugar cane The only biome with witch huts Slimes and witches can be farmed for their unique drops, slimeballs and witch warts	No cows and sheep spawn, only pigs and chickens Slimes and witches spawn at night and can be very dangerous to deal with if unprepared
Jungle Jungle Trees, Jungle Temples, Ferns, Flowers, Vines, Ocelots, Cocoa Pods, Jungle Spiders	A very dense, tropical biome. It features large jungle trees that can reach up to 31 blocks tall with 2×2 trunks. Oak trees are also common. The landscape is lush green and quite hilly, with many small lakes of water often nestled into deep valleys, sometimes above sea level. Leaves cover much of the forest floor—these "bush trees" have single-blocks of jungle wood for trunks, surrounded by oak leaves for foliage. When inside a jungle, the sky will become noticeably lighter. This is the only biome containing ferns and the aforementioned jungle trees. Vines are found alongside most blocks and may be found close to the surface in caves. Ocelots, Jungle Temples and Cocoa Plants spawn exclusively in this biome, the latter found on jungle trees. Jungle spiders can spawn on leaf blocks in this biome.
	Only biome with cocoa plants Only biome with jungle temples Along with swamp, one of the two biomes with sugar cane Jungle spiders can be farmed for their unique drop, venom sacks	No cows and sheep spawn, only pigs and chickens Dense foliage makes traversal quite slow and difficult Jungle spiders are extremely dangerous and can spawn even during the day Seriously, they will kill you You're best off burning the whole thing to the ground
Ice Plains (Tundra) Snow, Snowfall, Oak Trees, Ice	An expansive, flat biome with a huge amount of snow. It does not rain in this biome — it snows instead. Lakes and rivers are frozen over. Hills tend to be more mountainous. There are very few natural oak trees in this biome. No above ground structures spawn here.
	Like plains, terrain is flat and provides good visibility	Snow is slow to traverse and even if it is removed, it will come back when it snows Water outside will freeze to ice if not near a light source Due to the scarcity of wood, initial survival becomes difficult in comparison to other biomes
Taiga Snow, Snowfall, Ice, Spruce Trees, Flowers, Wolves	A hilly biome densely filled with spruce trees. Grass is a dull gray-blue. Snowfall occurs in this biome, forming snow and ice. Hills are common, and wolves are found in this biome.
	Like forest, a good source of wood Along with forest, one of the two biomes with wolves	Once again, snow cover on the ground makes it slow to traverse Wolves can be dangerous when they get hungry
Extreme Hills Oak Trees, Flowers, Emerald Ore, Monster Egg	A highly mountainous biome (with some mountains reaching over y=100) with dull gray-blue grass and a few scattered oak trees. Cliffs, peaks, valleys, waterfalls, overhangs, floating islands, and many other structures exist, offering outstanding views. More underground cave systems are present here than in any other biome. Falling is a significant risk, as there are many ledges and sudden drops large enough to cause severe fall damage or even death. Extreme Hills and Extreme Hills Edge are the only biomes where Emerald Ores spawn. They are also the only true biome in which silverfish can be found naturally.
	Emerald ore spawns underground only in this biome Exposed rock frequently offers easy access to coal in the early game	Large hills are slow and hunger-intensive to traverse Silverfish can surprise you while mining
Ocean Water, Sand, Clay, Dirt, Squid	An extremely large, open biome made entirely of water, with underwater relief on the sea floor, such as small mountains and plains, usually including dirt, sand, and clay. Oceans typically extend under 25,000 blocks in any direction, reaching out to 100,000 in rare circumstances. Small islands with infrequent vegetation can be found in oceans. Friendly mobs do not spawn on these islands, but hostiles do. Epic caves are very common below sea level, and entrances to underground ravines can be found at the bottom of the ocean, as well as abandoned mine shafts.
	Can be crossed quickly with a boat and sail	The few islands offer little helpful resources Squid will come hunting anyone foolish enough to try sailing at night
Mushroom Island Mushrooms, Huge Mushrooms, Mycelium, Mooshrooms	This rare biome consists of a mixture of flat landscape and steep hills and has mycelium instead of grass as its common surface block. However, if you do place down a Grass Block, it is a very bright green color compared to other biomes. It is always adjacent to an Ocean and it is often found isolated from other biomes. It is the only biome where huge mushrooms can spawn naturally, and where mushrooms can grow in full sunlight. No mobs other than Mooshrooms spawn "naturally" on the surface of this biome. This includes the usual night-time monster spawns, since hostile mobs cannot spawn on mycelium. Hostile mobs can still spawn underground in caves, however. Trees can be grown from saplings in this biome, as well as other dirt or grass-based plants, as long as they are not directly adjacent to mycelium, which will take over the dirt square from the plant and uproot it. Once created, farmland can resist takeover by mycelium.
	One of the only sources of mycelium Hostile mobs cannot spawn on mycelium or mushroom blocks	Very rare, and almost always isolated in the middle of an ocean There are no trees, grass, or animals other than mooshrooms
Hell (The Nether) Magma Cubes Netherrack, Glowstone, Soul Sand, Nether Brick, Gravel, Quartz, Ghasts, Blazes, Zombie Pigmen, Nether Fortress, Wither Skeletons	This is the biome used to generate the Nether. Most of the terrain is composed entirely of expansive netherrack mountains, caves, and walls at all altitudes, though also spawns Nether Quartz. Unlike other biomes it is enclosed by bedrock at layers 128 and 1. Lava oceans cover this biome at layer 31, while lava springs flow down from the bedrock ceiling (and occasionally from walls), making lava streams and lakes very common. Besides generating more often, lava also flows further and faster than it does in the Overworld. It is the only biome where ghasts, blazes, wither skeletons and magma cubes naturally spawn. Glowstone is also found beneath netherrack ceilings and outcrops, while gravel and soul sand appear in layers and outcrops. Many of the creatures and resources of the Nether can only appear in Nether fortresses.
Sky (The End) End Stone,Endermen Obsidian, Ender Crystals, Ender Dragon	This biome is used to generate the End. Unlike other biomes it is composed almost entirely of a finite, floating landmass of End Stone, with the exception of obsidian towers and Ender Crystals. Only Endermen and a sole Ender Dragon can spawn in this biome. Using this biome in the Overworld (using external editors or superflat codes) will cause the sky to turn black.

Technical biomes

Technical biomes are found alongside or within their larger counterparts. They are not considered true biomes but they are referred to as biomes in the code. However, these technical biomes serve an important role in the Minecraft world in creating more realistic terrain.

Name	Description and Sample Image
River	A biome that consists of water blocks that form in 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 on the other side, but will sometimes loop around to the same area of ocean. They have no current. Rivers are also a reliable source of clay. These biomes are good for fishing.
Frozen River	This variant of the river only spawns in taiga and tundra biomes. The surface layer of water is frozen.
Beach	Generated on the shores of almost any body of water, beaches are composed of sand. Beaches penetrate the landscape, removing the original blocks and placing in sand blocks. These are also useful for fishing. Beaches are usually a lot bigger in a Tagia biome. See also Beach.
Mushroom Island Shore	Mushroom shores represent the flat shore area of the mushroom biome.
Frozen Ocean	Found near snowy biomes, frozen oceans contain ice on the top layer of water.
Extreme Hills Edge	Acts as a fringe between mountains and most other biomes.
Hills	Hills are generated within Forest, Taiga, Desert, Jungle, and Tundra biomes and are referred to as "ForestHills", "TaigaHills", etc. Forest hills seem to be generated more rarely than the other hills in their respective main biome. Tundra Hills are usually taller. In update 1.3 hills generated in forest and desert biomes are now taller.

See also

• The Overworld
• Generated structures
• Seed (Level Generation)
• Weather
• History of biomes and generated structures
• Large Biomes