Badlands

Badlands

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 37 hex: 25 bin: 100101
Biome ID	badlands

The badlands is a rare warm biome, typically bordered by desert, savanna and ocean biomes. It is one of the most diverse biomes in the game, having a total of six variations.

Description

The badlands biome, along with its variants, are comprised of a red sand floor and large mounds of terracotta, coming in layers of various colors. The sand and terracotta give way to red sandstone, stone, and ores a few layers down. Cacti and dead bushes dot the landscape, along with uncommon lakes. Abandoned mineshafts generate at much higher Y-levels in these biomes, oftentimes exposed to the sky, and are made of dark oak wood planks and fences rather than oak. Additionally, gold ore generates at Y-level 79 rather than 32, and at much higher rates as well, making badlands caverns an excellent source of gold.

River biomes cutting through badlands plateaus can give the appearance of a large canyon, and can pose a fall damage hazard if the player is not careful. Should badlands biomes generate freestanding, they will be surrounded by a thin desert, serving as a border. This desert border does not appear if badlands border an ocean, nor does it appear if the Eroded Badlands variant generates next to an adjacent land biome.

While the badlands biomes are rich in resources and building materials, survival may be difficult, as no passive mobs spawn in this biome. Trees are rare as well, only appearing in a few variants of the biome. Like deserts, lakes generate infrequently, limiting water sources and making farming potentially troublesome. As it is a dry biome, it never rains in the badlands, meaning lightning strikes are impossible (though rain can still fall and lightning can still strike in river biomes cutting through badlands), but the usual darkening of the sky (and hostile mob spawning during thunderstorms) still occurs during inclement weather.

The colors of specific layers (bands) of terracotta in this biome is the same in all badlands biomes found in one particular world. Colors of terracotta bands are determined using only the first 48 bits of the 64-bit world seed on Java and Legacy Console editions. The terracotta band colors repeat every 64 blocks on the Y-axis, and the Y-level of a particular band of terracotta can vary by as much as 4 blocks on the Y-axis. Variations of the Y-level of a terracotta band is done by the X-axis and doesn't use the Z-axis, meaning that if a layer of white terracotta generates at y71 at x200 and y72 at x400, it will be the same regardless of the Z coordinate. One may note chunk patterns when the terracotta banding jumps one Y-level along a particular X axis. Often, the very top layer of stained terracotta is replaced with regular terracotta; this is most clearly seen on plateaus. Additionally, if terracotta generates underwater it is replaced with orange terracotta as the top layer.

In Bedrock Edition, there are only 32-bit seeds, so badlands terracotta layers will be completely different, even if using the same seed. The same terracotta banding is found in all badlands biomes on the same world/seed. The Y-level of a particular layer of terracotta is varied at random.

Variants

Along with the regular badlands, there are five biome variants, for a total of six different badlands biomes.

Badlands Plateau

Badlands Plateau

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Rare / Very rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 39 hex: 27 bin: 100111
Biome ID	badlands_plateau

Badlands Plateau features large hills comprised of terracotta, in different-colored layers. The hills rise up about 20-30 blocks above sea level, and flatten at the top, much like real plateaus. The top of the plateau is typically covered in dead bushes. The sides of the plateau can occasionally reveal caverns and abandoned mineshafts.

Modified Badlands Plateau

Modified Badlands Plateau

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Very Rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 167 hex: A7 bin: 10100111
Biome ID	modified_badlands_plateau

Compared to the regular Badlands Plateau, Modified Badlands Plateau features smaller plateaus and somewhat harsher terrain, mimicking a larger plateau that has weathered down over time. Desert biomes will not generate as a thin edge when this variant generates alongside other biomes; eroded badlands will replace them. Modified Badlands Plateau is the second rarest biome in Minecraft, after Modified Jungle Edge.

Wooded Badlands Plateau

Wooded Badlands Plateau

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts Oak trees
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Grass Coarse Dirt Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 38 hex: 26 bin: 100110
Biome ID	wooded_badlands_plateau

Wooded Badlands Plateau generates similarly to the regular Badlands Plateau, though the top layers of terrain are occasionally replaced by grass and coarse dirt, with oak trees growing. The grass and oak leaves take on a dull greenish-brown color, giving it a dead appearance. This variant is a rare source of wood in the otherwise barren badlands. The forest begins generating at roughly Y-level 82.

Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau

Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Very Rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts Oak trees
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Grass Coarse Dirt Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 166 hex: A6 bin: 10100110
Biome ID	modified_wooded_badlands_plateau

Similar to the Modified Badlands Plateau, the Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau has a weathered appearance and features smaller plateaus and more erratic terrain, meaning significantly fewer oak trees are able to generate at the top layers. Desert biomes will not generate as a thin edge when this variant generates alongside other biomes; eroded badlands will replace them.

Eroded Badlands

Eroded Badlands

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Very Rare
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Exposed abandoned mineshafts
Blocks	Red Sand Red Sandstone Terracotta Cactus Dead Bush Water Gold Ore
Data value	dec: 165 hex: A5 bin: 10100101
Biome ID	eroded_badlands

Eroded Badlands features unique formations of terracotta, coming in tall, narrow spires rising up from the red sand floor. This biome is intended to resemble Utah's famous Bryce Canyon, which features these sorts of spires (known as hoodoos) across its landscape.

History

Java Edition
August 2, 2013					Jens tweeted the first image of the mesa biome. He jokingly referred to them as "disco mountains".
1.7.2			13w36a		Mesa biome added, along with its variants, many other biomes, and the temperature system.
			13w39a		Red sand will now generate in mesa biomes and their variants.
1.8			14w32a		Red sandstone will now generate below red sand in mesa biomes and their variants.
1.10			16w20a		Abandoned mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
					In mesa biomes, hardened clay will no longer generate more than 15 blocks deep, if the mesa is more than 15 blocks above sea level.
					The normal 2 veins of gold ore below Y=32 in mesas will now attempt to generate 20 veins at elevations between 32 and 79.
					Mesas can now generate dark oak abandoned mineshafts above ground.
1.13			18w16a		Cleaned up several biome names, mainly by adding missing spaces and changing "Biome M" for "Mutated Biome".
			18w19a		Changed the names of this biome and its variants: specifically Mesa to Badlands, Mesa Forest Plateau to Wooded Badlands Plateau, Mesa Plateau to Badlands Plateau, Mesa (Bryce) to Eroded Badlands, Mutated Mesa Forest Plateau to Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau, and Mutated Mesa Plateau to Modified Badlands Plateau.
			pre5		Changed several biome IDs, mostly to comply with their names, listed here.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.9.0			build 1		Mesa biomes added, along with many other biomes.
0.9.5					Added Mesa (Bryce).
0.10.0			build 1		Mesa biomes now have gold ore at every elevation.
					Mesas can now generate abandoned mineshafts on the surface.
Legacy Console Edition
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Added mesa biomes, along with many other biomes.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Abandoned mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.

Gallery

• 

  The first picture provided of the badlands biome (then called mesa), tweeted by Jens.

• 

  Another image of the Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau.

• 

  Ground-view of a badlands biome.

• 

  Badlands with a lake.

• 

  A very rare occurrence of eroded badlands and ice spikes touching.

• 

  A badlands and jungle biome generated together, with an exposed mineshaft.

• 

  A village that generated almost entirely within badlands and eroded badlands.

• 

  A badlands cavern.

See also

• Desert
• Mountains