Desert

Desert

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Common
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Desert Temples Villages Desert Wells Fossils
Blocks	Sand Sandstone Cactus Dead Bush
Data value	dec: 2 hex: 2 bin: 10
Biome ID	desert

The Desert biome is a common warm biome. It is among the first biomes added to the game. It has three variations total.

Description

Desert biomes are usually vast, quite barren, and lifeless, with the only vegetation being cacti and dead bushes. The only passive mobs that may spawn here are rabbits and villagers, the latter only within desert villages. The terrain is flat and the surface is made entirely of sand, with sandstone generating underneath the sand to prevent it from falling into caves below. Water ponds will not generate in deserts aside from the Desert Lakes variant, though lava ponds may still generate. Deserts make up for their barrenness by featuring a relatively large number of structures, such as villages, desert temples, fossils, and desert wells. Villages and desert temples may offer refuge and valuable loot, desert wells may serve as a rare source of water, and fossils can provide large numbers of bone blocks and bone meal, or simply a neat archaeological find.

Deserts are usually found next to other warm biomes, such as savannas and badlands. Deserts may also generate as a thin border around badlands biomes should they generate freestanding.

Despite the structures, survival in deserts can still be very difficult if one does not bring their own resources, as the desert has virtually no resources of its own. Wood logs are unobtainable here, though dead bushes provide a source of sticks. Finding water sources can prove to be quite challenging, as the only desert water sources are villages, desert wells, rivers, and the uncommon Desert Lakes variant. At night, most zombies that spawn in deserts and variants are replaced by husks, variants of zombies that inflict the Hunger effect and do not burn in the sun, making fighting hostile mobs more difficult as well.

Variants

Deserts have two variants, for a total of three different desert biomes.

Desert Hills

Desert Hills

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Common
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Fossils
Blocks	Sand Sandstone Cactus Dead Bush
Data value	dec: 17 hex: 11 bin: 10001
Biome ID	desert_hills

Desert Hills variants feature hillier terrain, just like all other hills biomes in the game. Desert hills can reach slightly higher elevations than other hills, and are comprised mostly of sand and sandstone like the rest of the desert. No structures other than fossils may generate within the hills, making this variant overall more difficult. Players should be careful digging up sand in the hills, as it may generate unsupported and cause all other unsupported sand blocks near it to fall if dug up. Desert hills will not generate if their base desert is a thin border around a badlands biome.

Desert Lakes

Desert Lakes

Type	Dry/Warm
Rarity	Uncommon
Temperature	2.0
Structures	Fossils
Blocks	Sand Sandstone Water Cactus Dead Bush
Data value	dec: 130 hex: 82 bin: 10000010
Biome ID	desert_lakes

The uncommon Desert Lakes variant, known as Desert M before 1.13, features oases of water across its landscape, making this variant a potentially valuable source of water. The terrain is slightly rougher and hiller than the base desert biome, though not as much as the desert hills. No structures other than fossils may generate here, like the desert hills.

History

Alpha
v1.2.0			?		Added true biomes, including deserts.
Beta
1.8			?		As part of a biome overhaul, deserts have been removed.
Java Edition
1.0.0			September 2, 2011		Notch teased a screenshot of the new desert biome.
			?		Deserts have been re-added.
1.2.1			12w04a		Added desert wells to deserts.
1.3.1			12w21a		Added desert temples to deserts.
			?		Hills in deserts are now taller.
1.6.1			13w17a		Water lakes will now no longer generate in deserts.
1.7.2			13w36a		Desert M variant has been added, along with many other biomes.
1.10			16w20a		Added fossils, which may generate in deserts.
1.13			18w16a		Cleaned up several biome names, mainly by adding missing spaces and changing "Biome M" for "Mutated Biome".
			18w19a		Names of several biomes have been changed. The exact name changes are listed here.
			pre5		Changed several biome IDs, mostly to comply with their names, listed here.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.1.0					Added biomes, including deserts.
0.1.3					Cacti will now generate in deserts.
0.9.0			build 1		Added Desert M variant, along with many other biomes.
0.11.0			build 1		Added desert wells to deserts.
0.13.0			build 1		Added desert temples to deserts.
Pocket Edition
1.1.3			alpha 1.1.3.0		Added fossils, which may generate in deserts.
Legacy Console Edition
TU5	CU1	1.00	Patch 1		Added desert biomes.
TU12					Desert wells were added.
TU14		1.04			Desert temples have been added.
					Hills in deserts have been made taller.
TU19	CU7	1.12			Water lakes will now no longer generate in deserts.
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Desert M variant has been added, along with many other biomes.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Added fossils, which may generate in deserts.

Gallery

• 

  A desert village, with a partially buried desert temple.

• 

  A desert well.

• 

  Sunrise in a desert.

See also

• Badlands
• Savanna