Lava

Transparency	Yes
Luminance	Yes, 15
Blast resistance	500
Tool
Renewable	No
Stackable	N/A
Flammable	No
Drops	None
Data values	Flowing Lava dec: 10 hex: A bin: 1010 Still Lava dec: 11 hex: B bin: 1011
Name	Flowing Lava flowing_lava^{[until 1.13]} Still Lava lava

	“	Today, lava spawns naturally in Minecraft in a whole bunch of places. The easiest location to find it is in the nether, where it forms vast seas below y-level 31. But it'll also spawn in the overworld, replacing air blocks in caves at the bottom of the world. Be very careful digging through rock below y-level 10 because it's very easy to find yourself face-to-face with a surprise lava pool that incinerates all the precious diamonds you just painstakingly collected. No point crying about it. The lava will just incinerate those tears too.	„
		— Duncan Geere^[1]

Lava is a light-emitting fluid block.

Obtaining[edit]

Lava cannot be obtained as an item, but can be retrieved with a bucket.

Natural generation[edit]

Lava replaces air blocks generated in caves and ravines between level 1 and 10. Level 1 to 10 is considered "Lava Level" because this is where a player should be careful while mining. If the player creates a customized world without any caves or ravines, lava will not appear, and if lava lakes, strongholds and villages are disabled, the only source is the Nether. Lava will not replace air blocks inside abandoned mineshafts, dungeons or strongholds between level 1 and 10.

Lava can also occur as lava rivers from a single spring block, pouring down walls into pools. The spring block can be on the side of a cave, ravine, mineshaft or a stone cliff above ground.

Lava also spawns as lakes, which can be found at any elevation within any biome. Lava generates in customized worlds with lava oceans set to yes.

Furthermore, 2 blocks of lava can also be found in villages in blacksmiths' houses.

15 blocks of lava can be found in the End portal room of a stronghold: 3 along the left wall, 3 along the right wall, and 9 below the portal frame.

In the Nether, lava is extremely common, appearing more frequently than water in the Overworld. Seas of lava occur, with sea level at level 31, about a quarter of the total height of the Nether (as 63 is about a quarter the height of the Overworld). They extend down to about level 22 at the most. Lava also appears in single blocks inside the netherrack. In Console Edition, lava is a renewable resource, due to the fact that the player can reset the nether in the world options.

Lava cannot go anywhere with soul sand underneath it. It also generates in woodland mansions.

Usage[edit]

Burning[edit]

Fence posts are not burnt by lava above them.

What it looks like inside lava

Most entities will take 4 () damage every half-second from being in contact with lava, and will also be set on fire. When in contact with lava, 300 Fireticks will be added instantly to the Firetimer of the entity/player. For every further tick the player is in contact with lava, 2 Fireticks will be added to the Timer. For example: 10 seconds in lava will cause a total amount of 700 Fireticks (35 seconds) where the player burns (300 initially + 400 Fireticks for 200 ticks being in the lava) or rather 500 Fireticks (25 seconds) left to burn when they leave the lava source. If the victim touches water or rain falls on it, the fire will be extinguished, but the lava will continue to damage them directly.

Nether mobs (which are immune to fire) will take no damage, nor will vex, nor will players or mobs affected by a potion of fire resistance.

The “embers” or “fireballs” which fly out of lava are purely decorative and do not cause fires or damage to entities. When it rains on lava, the rate at which the black "ember" particles appear increases dramatically.

A player in lava will last the following time, assuming the hunger bar is always full:

3.5 seconds with full leather armor, no enchantments
5 seconds with full gold armor, no enchantments
5.5 seconds with full chain armor, no enchantments
6.5 seconds with full iron armor, no enchantments
14 seconds with full diamond armor, no enchantments

Fire spread[edit]

The orange area represents areas
where air could catch flame if the
gray and orange areas are not clear
of flammable blocks. The wood
is all at a safe distance.

Lava can cause fires by turning air blocks to fire blocks:

in a 3×3 area right above the lava, and
in a 5×5 area above that.

In order for air above lava to turn to fire, a block adjacent to the air has to be flammable, or one of the wood-constructed non-flammable blocks. Since catching fire depends on air blocks, even torches or lava itself can prevent a flammable block from catching fire. Additionally, not all flammable or wood-constructed blocks can be ignited by lava.

Lava of any depth can start fires this way, whether or not it appears to have a current, but it must have settled into a stable lava block. The flowing_lava block will not cause fires.

Flow[edit]

See also: Liquid

Old flowing lava animation.

Lava flows from "source blocks". Most streams or "lava-falls" come from a single source block, but lava lakes (including the "flood lava" in the bottom 10 layers) are composed entirely of source blocks. Only a source block can be captured with a bucket. Lava flows far more slowly than water, and sometimes sourceless lava flows will linger for a short time. In the Overworld, lava travels 3 blocks in any direction from a source block. Lava travels faster and further in the Nether than in the Overworld .

Lava which is flowing will destroy the following in its path: saplings, cobweb, tall grass, dead bush, wheat, flowers, mushrooms, snow on ground (but snow blocks are immune), lily pads, vines, levers, buttons, both types of torches, redstone, repeaters, end rods, and rails. Sugar canes hold back lava, but will disappear if the sugar cane's water source is destroyed by the lava.

Using a redstone wire, a one-block lava flow can be redirected by supplying power to the spring block, which will cause it to reset the flow towards the now-nearest terrain depression. This is further elaborated in this thread. It cannot, however, be reversed. This re-calculation is made because redstone wire when toggled changes the block from redstone(on), to redstone(off). Whenever a block updates on any side of lava, the lava re-calculates where to flow, but does not cut off its current direction of flow.

Flowing lava will not push entities, which is intentional.^[2]

Lava and water[edit]

Main article: Liquid § Mixing

Water and lava can produce stone, cobblestone, or obsidian based on how they interact.

Light source[edit]

Lava blocks emit a light level of 15.

Other[edit]

If there is lava flowing above a block, the lava seeps through.

Lava above a nontransparent block (does not include stairs, fences, and slabs) produces dripping particles on the underside of that block. These droplets are purely aesthetic, functioning identically to their water counterparts, except water particles are slightly faster.

Lava can set off tripwires, because they break placed string. It will only trigger it once.

Arrows shot by the player will only catch fire if shot in flowing lava and not still lava.

Lava Bucket[edit]

Lava Bucket

Type	Tools
Renewable	No
Stackable	No
First appearances	See History
Data values	JE: dec: 327 hex: 147 bin: 101000111 BE: dec: 325¹⁰ hex: 145¹⁰ bin: 101000101¹⁰
Name	JE: lava_bucket BE: bucket

Lava source blocks can be collected and replaced using a bucket, in much the same way as water can.

A lava bucket can be used as a very efficient fuel. It has the longest burning value of 1000 seconds, compared to 800 seconds for a coal block (a lava bucket smelts 100 items, and a coal block smelts 80). After smelting starts, the lava bucket turns into an empty bucket.

Data values[edit]

ID[edit]

Block	ID Name		Numerical ID
Still Lava	`lava`		11^{[until 1.13]}
Flowing Lava	`flowing_lava`^{[until 1.13]}		10^{[until 1.13]}
Item	ID Name		Numerical ID
Item	JE	BE	JE	BE
Lava Bucket	`lava_bucket`	`bucket`	327^{[until 1.13]}	325¹⁰

Lava spends most of its time as stationary, rather than 'flowing' – regardless of its level, or whether it contains a current downwards or to the side. When specifically triggered by a block update, lava will change to 'flowing', update its level, then change back to stationary. Lava springs are generated as flowing, and lava lakes are generated as stationary.

Block data[edit]

See also: Data values

If bit 0x8 is set, this liquid is "falling" and only spreads downward. At this level, the lower bits are essentially ignored, since this block is then at its highest fluid level.

The lower three bits are the fluid block's level. 0x0 is the highest fluid level (not necessarily filling the block - this depends on the neighboring fluid blocks above each upper corner of the block). Data values increase as the fluid level of the block drops: 0x1 is next highest, 0x2 lower, on through 0x7, the lowest fluid level. Along a line on a flat plane, lava drops one level per meter in the nether and two everywhere else.

Block state[edit]

See also: Block states

Block minecraft:lava
Block minecraft:flowing_lava^{[until 1.13]}

Name	Value	Description
level	`0`	Lava source block.
	`1–7`	Height of the lava, with 1 being highest. Also represents the distance from a lava source or a falling lava. In the End and Overworld, only 2, 4 and 6 are used.
	`8–15`	Falling lava. This level is equal to 8 plus the level of the non-falling lava above it. For instance a lava of level 2 will produce falling lava below it with level 10. The distinction makes no difference in behavior.

Fluid minecraft:lava^{[upcoming 1.13]}

Name	Value	Description
falling	`true` `false`	Always false.

Fluid minecraft:flowing_lava^{[upcoming 1.13]}

Name	Value	Description
falling	`true` `false`	True for falling lava, false for lava flowing sideways.
level	`1–7`	Height of the lava when `falling` is `false`, with 7 being highest.
level	`8`	Always has a value of `8` when `falling` is `true`.

Achievements[edit]

Main article: Achievements

Icon	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Availability				Xbox points earned	Trophy type (PS)
Icon	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Xbox	PS	Bedrock	Nintendo	Xbox points earned	Trophy type (PS)
	Stayin' Frosty	Swim in lava while having the Fire Resistance effect.		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	20G	Bronze
	Super Fuel	Power a furnace with lava		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	20G	Bronze

Advancements[edit]

Main article: Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Internal ID
	Hot Stuff	Fill a bucket with lava	Acquire Hardware	Get a lava bucket in your inventory.	`minecraft:story/lava_bucket`

History[edit]

Pre-classic
rd-161348				The texture for lava can now be found within the game.
Classic
0.0.12a				Added lava.
0.0.19a				The original texture was replaced. The old texture can still be found in the terrain.png file in the minecraft.jar
				In Classic, lava spreads by duplicating itself to open horizontal and downwards squares like water. Lava is slower, though, and can be easily outrun. A quick player can block the flow of lava by building a dam. However, if the lava wave is large, a player may not be able to build fast enough. Also like water, lava slows down the player moving through it but it does so to a greater extent, and swimming through it causes greater damage. Lava is also more opaque than water and is harder to see through while you are submerged; you cannot see through lava from outside it. At the bottom of the map, lava can be found directly above bedrock in a different form, as it will trap the player and prevent the player from leaving unless water is let in and collides with it or if the player places a sand or gravel block, letting it drop into the lava. If water is let into the area where the lava is, the lava will form stone, allowing the stone block to be removed to expose bedrock underneath.
				Lava's texture became animated.
0.24 (August 25, 2009)				Surface lava is now possible, however unlikely it may be.
0.24 (August 25, 2009)				Lava now deals damage.
Indev
0.31 (January 11, 2010, 1)				Lava now sets fire to flammable materials.
0.31 (January 22, 2010)				Lava can now be found in the player's inventory.^[4]
0.31 (January 22, 2010)				Like water, lava will now flow, but more slowly than water.^[3]
?				Lava can no longer be found in the player's inventory.
Infdev
June 15, 2010				Lava now flows.
June 15, 2010				Added lava buckets.
June 17, 2010, 3				Lava flows more realistically across surfaces but not as much as water does. Lava will flow for a total distance of 3 blocks "away" from the source block. Just like water, lava will flow in a single line towards the nearest terrain depression within four blocks. Items thrown into lava flows will disintegrate. All objects burn instantaneously when dropped into lava. Fired arrows will not disintegrate, but will appear to catch fire and can still be picked up. Magma is no longer present at the bottom of maps in this mode. Lava can melt ice and snow. Lava is luminous and a large lava flow is visible in the dark from quite a distance.
Alpha
v1.0.2_02				Tweaked liquids slightly.
v1.0.6_03				Obsidian was readded after being removed in Indev.
v1.0.15				Lava now sets nearby blocks on fire.
v1.1.0				Buckets of lava can be used to fuel a furnace for 100 smelts, consuming the lava and the bucket.
v1.2.0			preview	Added the Nether, with lots of lava everywhere.
v1.2.2				Lava now flows further in the Nether.
v1.2.6				Using a lava bucket on chests and other blocks with GUIs no longer places the lava.
v1.2.6				Lava lakes added.
Beta
1.8			?	When lava is touched by rain, it emits smoke.
Official release
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease	When lava flows above a block, its underside now emits dripping particles.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease	Lava blocks now form stone when falling directly onto water source blocks.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5	Only in this version it was possible to create an infinite lava source using a plus-sign shaped arrangement of blocks with four lava source blocks flowing into central empty block.
1.2.1			12w05a	Lava (as well as the embers that pop out of it) makes sounds. These sounds were in the game files for a long time but they had not played in-game.
1.3.1			12w15a	Lava can be fired out of dispensers.
1.4.2			12w38a	Flowing lava now has a constant sound.
1.5			13w02a	There is "hidden lava" in the Nether, and lava flows much more quickly in the Nether.
				The texture of lava is now accessible. Before, the texture was hidden in the code and not accessible by any normal basis due to being based on a cellular automaton.
				Lava texture has been changed slightly.
1.7.2			13w37a	Lava, which previously could be destroyed by a few blocks of TNT, can no longer be destroyed by explosions.
1.8			14w25a	The item forms of block IDs 10 (flowing lava) and 11 (still lava) were removed from the game. They can no longer exist in inventories, only as blocks in the world.
1.8			14w25a	Now shows a lava bucket as the icon when lava is used as a layer in superflat.
1.11			16w39a	Lava now generates in woodland mansions.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.13			17w47a	Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 10 and 11.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.1.0				Added lava.
0.3.3				Lava no longer creates fire, due to a game breaking spreading bug.
0.7.0				Lava now lights flammable blocks around it on fire.
				Lava now has a flowing animation.
				Added lava buckets.
0.7.4				Lava buckets can be used as fuel in a furnace.
0.7.4				Lava buckets no longer stack to 64.
?				Lava flowing directly into water will now actually spread out over it.
0.9.0			build 1	Underground ponds of lava can now be found, making lava much more easy to obtain.
0.9.0			build 1	Added lava dripping particles.
0.12.1			build 1	Players are now able to swim in lava.
			build 6	Lava is now brighter.
			build 8	Lava will now cancel all fall damage.
Pocket Edition
1.1			build 1	Lava now generates in woodland mansions.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	Added lava.
TU9				Dispensers were given the ability to shoot out the liquids inside lava buckets. They could also suck up the liquids if activated again, but did not fill up the buckets with the liquid dropped due to a bug.
TU12				Lava (as well as the embers that pop out of it) makes sounds.
TU12				The texture for lava was changed.

Issues[edit]

Issues relating to "Lava" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[edit]

The player can swim in lava, (If they are under the effects of a Fire Resistance Potion) although the swimming speed is noticeably slower. Additionally, flowing lava doesn't move players/mobs.
A water source block placed 1 block away upwards diagonally (but not through corners) from a lava block will first flow in the direction of the lava, then other directions facing away from the lava. This happens because water physics treat the place that lava occupies as empty, and try to flow to it. Once the water turns the lava into obsidian, the water physics update to flow in all directions. (The same thing happens with lava flowing over water.)
Although lava is a liquid, it is not possible to drown in lava. This applies to all mobs except squids.
- However, it is still possible to suffocate in lava. This applies to all mobs including squids. ^{[Bedrock Edition only]}
When the player is in a bed, they cannot be damaged by lava.
In console versions, lava cannot be placed near the spawn point.
If lava is changed to be transparent via Resource pack, it will not be transparent.
Lava does not prevent explosions from activating. Instead it has a very high blast resistance and absorbs regular explosions.

Gallery[edit]

The default lava animation as it appears since the Redstone Update.
A lava lake found directly on the surface of the world.
Lava's melting pattern for snow and ice.
A natural lava spring near a waterfall.
A lava lake found in a large cavern.
A naturally-occurring stream of lava next to diamond, gold, and iron ore.
2 naturally-occurring lava lakes next to each other. Note the forest fire the lake on the left is starting.
A lava lake spawned naturally, note the forest fire nearby.
A thin piece of lava.
A running lava source (origin not seen) uncovered six blocks below the surface of desert terrain.
The inside view of lava with the night vision effect.
Ladders can stop lava from flowing.
A giant burning in a lava lake.