Biome
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“ | In case you don’t know what a “biome” is, it’s a climate zone used in the game to set what kind of surface the ground has (sand? grass?), whether it should rain or snow, what trees grow there, and sometimes also what kind of animals that are allowed to spawn there. | „ |
| —Jens Bergensten [1] |
Biomes are regions in a Minecraft world with varying geographical features, flora, heights, temperatures, humidity ratings, and sky and foliage colors. Biomes separate every generated world into different environments, such as forests, jungles, deserts, and taigas.
Contents
Temperature
Biomes have a temperature value that determines if it snows, rains, or does not have either. The required values are less than 0.15 for snow, 0.15 - 0.95 for rain, or greater than 1.0 for neither. These values can be used to determine the heights that snow generates in different biomes. The temperature also drops 0.00166667(1⁄600) per meter above the default sea level (Y=64), but does not change below sea level.
For example, extreme hills generate snow at Y=95, due to highland climate, as the base value is 0.2, and savannas do not experience rain or snow due to their heat. The "sea level" setting of a customized world does not affect this.
Biomes are split into 5 categories based on their temperature: snow-covered, cold, medium, dry/warm, and neutral. They were separated to prevent biomes with huge temperature differences being placed side-by-side (such as cold taiga next to a desert), and to allow biomes with similar temperatures to be placed next to each other more often. (Such as forest and swampland)
Biome types
There are 38 main biomes in the Overworld (with two being unused), one in The Nether, one in The End and 22 technical biomes, bringing the total number to 62 distinct biomes. 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.
Biomes are separated into 5 categories. The snow-covered biomes are marked in blue, cold in green, medium/lush in orange and dry/warm in red. The biomes which are not labeled are either neutral or unknown. Temperatures are given at sea level.
Snowy biomes
In these biomes, it snows at any height. The foliage and grass is a dark aqua-green, and the water is mostly purple.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Plains 12
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Temperature: 0.0
Snow, Snowfall, Oak Trees, Ice, Spruce Trees, Igloos, Strays, White and some Black & White Rabbits, Polar Bears, Occasional Tall Grass, Village[Bedrock and Legacy Console editions only] |
An expansive, flat biome with a huge amount of snow. All sources of water exposed to the sky are frozen over. Sugar cane will generate in this biome, but can become uprooted when chunks load as the water sources freeze to ice. There are very few natural oak and spruce trees in this biome. No passive mobs other than rabbits and the rare polar bears are able to spawn, however it is one of the few biomes where strays appear. Due to the biome's size, snow and ice cover, and scarcity of wood and animals, initial survival becomes difficult in comparison to other biomes. This is one of only two biomes where igloos naturally generate. |
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| Ice Plains Spikes 140
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Temperature: 0.0
Packed Ice, Snow, Snow Blocks, Strays, White and some Black & White Rabbits, Polar Bears, Ice Spikes |
A rare variation of the Ice Plains biome that features large spikes of packed ice, as well as packed ice 'lakes'. Usually the spikes are 10 to 20 blocks tall, but some long, thin spikes can reach over 50 blocks in height. All grass blocks in this biome are replaced with blocks of snow. Like the regular ice plains, no passive mobs other than rabbits and the rare polar bears are able to spawn and strays appear at night. |
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| Cold Taiga 30
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Temperature: -0.5
Snow, Snowfall, Ice, Spruce Trees, Flowers, Wolves, White and some Black & White Rabbits, Igloos |
Much like the regular taiga, the cold taiga is a relatively flat biome with large expanses of spruce trees. Ferns, and their taller variants, generate here quite commonly, although regular tall grass can still be found. It is one of the few places where wolves will naturally spawn. One may also find an igloo nestled between the trees, making it one of only two biomes where igloos naturally generate. |
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| Cold Taiga M 158
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Temperature: -0.5
Spruce Trees, Snow, Snowfall, Ferns, Wolves, White and some Black & White Rabbits |
The cold taiga M is not nearly as flat as its regular counterpart. Compared to regular taiga hills, the hills found in this biome are much steeper and more erratic. This large height differences make navigating the cold taiga M biome quite dangerous. Also unlike its normal variant, igloos do not generate here. |
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| Frozen River 11
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Temperature: 0.0
Ice, Water, Sand, Clay, Seagrass, Salmon mob, Drowned, Stray |
A river with a layer of ice covering its surface. It represents a separation of two cold biomes, but can also divide single biomes. Frozen rivers would connect to frozen oceans. Salmon can spawn here and at night, Drowned can spawn below ice. Frozen rivers will not generate where a cold biome meets a warmer biome; regular rivers will generate instead. |
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| Cold Beach 26
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Temperature: 0.05 | Like a regular beach, one can find plenty of sand in this biome and buried treasure can be found. However, this sand is covered in a layer of snow. Cold beaches are often found when a snowy biome borders an ocean biome. Cold Beach can also connected to Frozen Ocean. No passive mobs will spawn in this biome. |
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Cold biomes
In these biomes, it begins to snow over a certain height, but before the 256 block height limit. Otherwise, it rains. The foliage and grass is a dark aqua-green, and the water is mostly purple and indigo.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Hills 3
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Temperature: 0.2
Oak Trees, Spruce Trees, Gravel, Flowers, Emerald Ore, Monster Egg, Llamas |
A highland biome (with some mountaintops reaching y=130 or even higher) with a few scattered oak and spruce trees. Cliffs, peaks, valleys, waterfalls, overhangs, floating islands, caverns, and many other structures exist, offering outstanding views. This is one of the few biomes where llamas spawn naturally. Snowfall also occurs above certain heights, thus creating "snow caps" on the top of the mountains. Falling is a significant risk, as there are many steep ledges large enough to cause severe fall damage or even death. Extreme hills are the only biomes where emerald ores and silverfish can be found naturally. |
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| Extreme Hills M 131
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Temperature: 0.2 | The mountains in this biome are slightly higher than in their regular counterpart, many of which reach into the clouds and are covered by snow peaks. The terrain here is composed mainly of gravel, with small patches of grass here and there. Due to the low amounts of grass, the population of spruce and oak trees in this biome is much more sparse. |
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| Extreme Hills+ 34
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Temperature: 0.2 | This biome, usually found in the middle of regular extreme hills, generates much taller mountains, most of which will therefore be covered by snow. The slopes are quite steep, which makes scaling these mountains difficult and dangerous. The peaks feature a much higher concentration of grass and spruce trees, forming a small forest at the top. |
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| Extreme Hills+ M 162
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Temperature: 0.2 | This variant of the extreme hills + biome removes its signature spruce tree covered peaks in favor of terrain covered mostly by gravel and stone, similar to the extreme hills M biome. Larger and deeper valleys are carved into the relatively barren landscape - only a few isolated trees can be found here. |
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| Taiga 5
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Temperature: 0.25
Spruce Trees, Flowers, Fern, Wolves, Brown, salt & pepper and black rabbits, Villages |
A predominantly flat biome covered by a forest of spruce trees. Ferns and large ferns grow commonly on the forest floor. One may find packs of wolves here, along with small groups of rabbits. Villages may generate in this biome; naturally, the houses in these villages are built of spruce wood. | 
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| Taiga M 133
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Temperature: 0.25
Spruce Trees, Flowers, Ferns, Sheep, Brown, salt & pepper and black rabbits |
The taiga M also features large spruce forests, but these forests are overlayed onto mountainous terrain. Unlike regular taiga hills, these mountains tend to be larger and more difficult to climb. Perhaps owing to the rough nature of this biome, no villages can be found here. |
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| Mega Taiga 32
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Temperature: 0.3
Spruce Trees, Podzol, Ferns, Wolves, Brown, salt & pepper and black rabbits, Moss Stone, Mushrooms, Dirt, Coarse Dirt, Dead Bush |
The mega taiga is an uncommon biome composed of spruce trees, much like the standard taiga biome. However, some trees are 2×2 thick and very tall, alike to large jungle trees. Moss stone boulders appear frequently, brown mushrooms are common and podzol can be found on the forest floor. There are also patches of coarse dirt, which will not grow grass, with some dead bushes. Wolves may also spawn here, as they do in normal taiga biomes. |
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| Mega Spruce Taiga 160
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Temperature: 0.25
Spruce Trees, Podzol, Ferns, Grass, Moss Stone, Mushrooms, Dirt |
The terrain in this rare biome is almost exactly the same as in its regular counterpart. But the most striking feature of this biome is its giant spruce trees, which are essentially a scaled-up version of regular spruce trees. One can easily differentiate this from a normal mega taiga by observing how the leaves almost completely cover the tree trunks, whereas in normal mega taigas, leaves only tend to cover the top. |
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| Stone Beach 25
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Temperature: 0.2 | True to its name, this stone-covered biome often appears where extreme hills biomes meet the ocean. Depending on the height of the nearby land, stone beaches may generate as medium slopes or huge cliffs, its tops tall enough to be covered by snow. No passive mobs will generate here. Buried treasure can be generated here. |
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Medium/Lush biomes
In these biomes, it begins snowing over the 256 blocks height limit. Otherwise, it rains. The foliage and grass is a vibrant light green, except swamps and roofed forests, which have a dark green grass. Rivers are also exempt from this, as they have a dull green-blue hue. The water is blue in this biome.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains 1
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Temperature: 0.8
Tall Grass, Grass, Flowers, Villages, Horses, Donkeys, Oak Trees |
A relatively flat and grassy biome with rolling hills and few trees. Lakes, water holes, and villages are common. Cave openings and water or lava springs are easily identifiable due to the flat unobstructed terrain. Passive mobs spawn often in plains biomes; this biome and its variants are also one of the only biomes where horses spawn naturally. | 
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| Sunflower Plains 129
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Temperature: 0.8 | Usually found within normal plains, this biome is the only place where sunflowers naturally generate, hence its name. They grow in abundance, making yellow dye a widely available resource to those who live here. Villages will not generate in this biome. There are no other notable terrain differences from the normal plains biome. | 
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| Forest 4
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Temperature: 0.7 | A biome with a lot of oak and birch trees, occasional hills, and a fair amount of tall grass. Mushrooms and flowers can occasionally be found here. This is one of the most preferred biomes to start out in, due to the abundance of wood. However, the frequency of trees also makes it dangerous to navigate at night, due to obscured vision. Forest biomes are also one of the smallest biomes. | 
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| Flower Forest 132
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Temperature: 0.7 | This forest variation has fewer trees, but more than makes up for it - it is almost overflowing with nearly every type of flower and tall plant in the game, several of which will only grow in this biome. Therefore, this biome is optimal for harvesting and farming dyes. No wolves will spawn in the flower forest, although rabbits will spawn occasionally. | 
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| Birch Forest 27
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Temperature: 0.6 | A forest in which only birch trees generate. If one prefers to build with only a single wood types, and that wood type happens to be birch, they will certainly find themselves at home here. Unlike in the regular forest, no wolves will spawn in this biome. | 
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| Birch Forest M 155
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Temperature: 0.6
Tall Birch Trees, Flowers |
Birch trees grow much taller than usual in this uncommon variant of the birch forest biome. Whereas normal birch trees grow up to 7 blocks tall, these trees usually are 11 blocks in height. This makes deforestation a much more difficult task, although it provides the player with far more birch resources. | 
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| Roofed Forest 29
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Temperature: 0.7
Dark Oak Trees, Huge Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Rose Bushes, Woodland Mansions |
This biome is composed of dark oak trees, a mostly closed roof of leaves, and occasional large mushrooms. Trees in this forest are so plentiful and so close together, that at some spots it may become dark enough for hostile mobs to spawn, even during the day. On very rare occasions, a woodland mansion may spawn. Therefore, the roofed forest is the only biome in which the illager mobs and the totem of undying can be found. | 
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| Roofed Forest M 157
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Temperature: 0.7 | A variation of the roofed forest where large hills dominate and scatter the canopy. While increased light in the forest means slightly less mobs, the steep cliffs lining this biome still make it dangerous to navigate on foot. Unlike regular roofed forests, no woodland mansions will spawn here. | 
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| Swampland 6
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Temperature: 0.8
Witch Huts, Oak Trees, Grass, Vines, Lily Pads, Clay, Mushrooms, Slimes, Huge Mushrooms[Bedrock Edition only] , Fossils, Drowned, Seagrass |
A biome characterized by a mix of flat, dry areas around sea level and shallow pools of gray-green water with floating lily pads. Clay, sand, and dirt are commonly found at the bottom of these pools. Trees are covered with dark green vines, and can be found growing out from the water. Mushrooms and sugar canes are very abundant. Witch huts generate exclusively in swamps. Slimes will also spawn naturally at night, most commonly on full moons, and drowned also can spawn underwater here making this an especially dangerous biome at night. Temperature varies randomly within the biome, not affected by altitude, causing foliage and grass colors to vary.
In Bedrock Edition, huge mushrooms will also spawn in this biome. Visibility is also lower when the player is underwater. |
 
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| Swampland M 134
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Temperature: 0.8 | While there is no "Swampland Hills" biome, this uncommon biome could be considered the closest contender, since it is represented by areas where small hills rise in slopes of varying degrees, surrounded by flatter marshes. Witch huts do not generate in this biome, unlike the normal swampland biome. | 
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| Jungle 21
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Temperature: 0.95
Jungle Trees, Jungle Temples, Ferns, Flowers, Vines, Ocelots, Cocoa Pods, Melons, Parrots |
A very dense, but rather uncommon tropical biome. It features large jungle trees that can reach up to 31 blocks tall with 2×2 thick trunks. Oak trees are also common. The landscape is lush green and quite hilly, with many small lakes 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. When inside a jungle, the sky will become noticeably lighter. Vines are found alongside most blocks and may cover the surface of caves. Ocelots, jungle temples, melons, cocoa plants, and parrots can be found exclusively in this biome. Melons generate in small ocasional patches, similar to pumpkins. | 
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| Jungle M 149
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Temperature: 0.95
Jungle Trees, Jungle Temples, Ferns, Flowers, Vines, Ocelots, Cocoa Pods, Melons |
Much more mountainous version of the normal jungle, with foliage so thick that the ground is barely visible. A very resource-demanding biome. One may confuse this with the jungle hills biome at first glance, but the hills in the jungle M biome tend to be sharper and more erratic. Due to the combined height of the terrain and of the tall jungle trees, trees in the jungle M frequently reach into and go above the clouds. Extremely dense foliage and treacherous terrain make this a very difficult biome to navigate, especially at night. | 
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| Jungle Edge 23
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Temperature: 0.95
Jungle Trees, Ferns, Melons, Flowers, Vines, Ocelots, Parrots |
This biome represents a smooth transition between jungles and other biomes. In stark contrast to the wild and overgrown vegetation of the jungle biomes, the jungle edge consists of a few small and isolated jungle trees, with groups of melons here and there. The terrain is relatively flat, with some small rises in elevation. All mobs that spawn in the jungle, including parrots and ocelots, will also spawn in the jungle edge. | 
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| Jungle Edge M 151
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Temperature: 0.95
Jungle Trees, Oak Trees, Grass, Flowers, Vines, Melons, Ocelots, Parrots |
One of rarest biomes in the game. The jungle edge M is difficult to find because it requires that a jungle edge generate against a jungle M (an already rare biome in itself), which does not happen often since jungle M biomes are usually fully encompassed by normal jungles. Because of the strict conditions required to generate, this biome is often no more than 100 blocks in length and/or width, making it one of the smallest biomes as well. It features slightly steeper hills than normal, with very few to no tall trees. Like the normal jungle edge, jungle mobs like parrots will also spawn in this biome. Melons are also in abundance - a sort of gift to the player who manages to find this exceedingly rare biome. | 
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| River 7
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Temperature: 0.5
Water, Sand, Clay, Sugar Cane, Seagrass, Salmon mob, Drowned |
A biome that consists of water blocks that form an elongated, curving shape similar to a real river. Unlike real rivers, however, they have no current. 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. Rarely, they can have no connection to the ocean and form a circle. They have a dull green grass hue, much like the ocean, and trace amounts of oak trees tend to generate there as well. Rivers are also a reliable source of clay. These biomes are good for fishing and salmon also spawn in here, but drowned can spawn at night. | 
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| Beach 16
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Temperature: 0.8 | Generated where oceans meet other biomes, beaches are composed primarily of sand. Beaches penetrate the landscape, removing the original blocks and placing in sand blocks. These are also useful for fishing. Passive mobs other than turtles do not spawn on beaches. For the history of beaches, see the Beach page. | 
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| Mushroom Island 14
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Temperature: 0.9
Mushrooms, Huge Mushrooms, Mycelium, Mooshrooms, No Hostile Mobs |
This rare biome consists of a mixture of flat landscape and steep hills and has mycelium instead of grass as its surface. However, if you do place down grass, it is a very bright green color, not unlike that of the jungle. Mushroom islands are most often adjacent to an ocean and are often found isolated from other biomes, and they are typically a few hundred blocks wide. It is one of the only biomes where huge mushrooms can generate naturally, and where mushrooms can grow in full sunlight.
Technically no mobs other than mooshrooms spawn naturally in this biome, including the usual night-time hostile mobs. This also applies to caves, abandoned mine shafts, and other dark structures, meaning exploring underground is supposedly safe. However, mob spawners will still spawn mobs, and the player will also still be able to breed animals and spawn mobs using eggs. |
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| Mushroom Island Shore 15
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Temperature: 0.9
Mushrooms, Huge Mushrooms, Mycelium, Mooshrooms, No Hostile Mobs |
Mushroom shores represent the transition between mushroom islands and the ocean, forming long strips along the edge of the mushroom island as a sort of beach, hence the name. The terrain of this biome is much flatter and shallower in elevation than the main mushroom island biome, though it contains many of the same features, such as a mycelium surface layer, huge mushrooms, and lack of hostile mobs. | 
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| The End 9
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Temperature: 0.5
End Stone, Endermen, Obsidian, End Crystals, Ender Dragon, Chorus Plants, End Cities, Shulkers |
This biome is used to generate the End. The ender dragon, and large amounts of endermen, spawn in this biome. Most of the End's structure is provided by the dimension itself rather than the biome. It does not rain or snow in this biome unlike the other low temperature biomes. The outer islands in the End can be accessed using the End gateway portal after the ender dragon has been defeated. These contain endermen, chorus plants and End cities. End cities are the only place where shulkers naturally spawn. If the biome is used for a superflat world, the sky will be dark gray and an ender dragon will spawn at 0,0 coordinates in the Overworld. Only endermen will spawn at night. Beds will explode if used in this biome. |
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Dry/Warm biomes
In these biomes, it neither rains nor snows at all, but the sky will still turn overcast during inclement weather. The foliage and grass is an olive color, except mesa biomes, which have brown grass. The water is constantly light green.
| Biome Name and ID | Name Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert 2
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Temperature: 2.0
Sand, Cacti, Dead Bushes, Sandstone, Sugar Cane, Desert wells, Desert Temples, Desert Villages, Gold Rabbits, Fossils, Husk |
A barren and inhospitable biome consisting mostly of sand dunes, dead bushes, and cacti. Sandstone, and sometimes fossils, are found underneath the sand. The only passive mobs to spawn naturally in deserts are gold rabbits, their coloring well-camouflaged against the sand. At night, husks usually spawn in the place of normal zombies; the lack of visual obstruction makes hostile mobs highly visible. Sugar cane can be found if the desert is next to an ocean or river biome. Desert villages, desert wells and desert temples are found exclusively in this biome. This biome sometimes appear as edge of mesa biome. |
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| Desert M 130
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Temperature: 2.0
Sand, Cacti, Water, Sugar Canes, Gold Rabbits, Desert well, Fossils, Husk |
Unlike in normal deserts, patches of water can be found in this biome, and the terrain is slightly more rough. Although desert wells can be found, desert temples and villages will not generate in this biome. |
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| Savanna 35
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Temperature: 1.2
Acacia Trees, Tall Grass, Savannah Villages, Horses, Cows, Sheep, Llamas |
A relatively flat and dry biome with a dull-brown grass color and scattered acacia trees, although oak trees may generate now and then. Tall grass covers the landscape. Villages can generate in this biome, which are constructed almost entirely of acacia building materials. It is the only biome where both horses and llamas spawn naturally. |
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| Savanna M 163
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Temperature: 1.1 | Unlike the flat and calm terrain of the savanna biome, the chaotic terrain of this uncommon variant is wracked by gigantic mountains covered in coarse dirt. The mountains in the savanna M biome are extremely steep, jutting out at 90 degree angles, making it almost impossible to climb. On top of that, they dwarf the extreme hills in height - they can rise far above the clouds, and even to the world height limit, without using the Amplified world type. Massive waterfalls and lavafalls are quite common here. The unforgiving terrain means villages will not generate in this biome. Horses cannot spawn here, but llamas can. | 
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| Mesa 37
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Temperature: 2.0
Dead Bushes, Terracotta, 6 colors of Terracotta, Red Sand, Cacti, Red Sandstone, Above ground mineshafts, Gold ore |
A rare biome wherein large mounds of terracotta and stained terracotta will generate. Red sand will also generate here instead of regular sand, with occasional cacti and dead bushes. No passive mobs will spawn in this biome, even if all other spawning conditions are met. Mineshafts will generate at a much higher altitude than normal - now and then one may come across a mineshaft jutting out of the slope of a mesa. Gold ore is also a much more frequent occurrence, since ore veins generate within mesas at a higher Y-level than the usual 32. The composition of this biome is useful when other sources of terracotta and gold are scarce. However, finding mesa biomes can be difficult due to their rarity. On the other hand, it offers great variety - there are a total of 6 variations of this biome to explore.
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| Mesa (Bryce) 165
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Temperature: 2.0
Red Sand, Cacti, Red Sandstone, Dead Bushes, Terracotta 6 colors of Terracotta, Above ground mineshaft, Gold ore |
This rare biome generates unique terrain features that are similar to the structures in the real Bryce Canyon. Tall and narrow spires of colorful terracotta rise out of the floor of the canyon, which, like all other mesa variants, is covered in red sand. |
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| Mesa Plateau F 38
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Temperature: 2.0
Oak trees, Dead Bushes, Dirt, Terracotta, 6 colors of Terracotta |
One might not notice the subtle transition from the normal mesa plateau to this rare variation, were it were not for the layer of grass blocks and the small forests of oak trees that generate atop these plateaus. The color of the grass and leaves is a dull green-brown hue, giving it a dried and dead appearance. These trees are a rare source of wood when living in the otherwise barren and lifeless mesa. |
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| Mesa Plateau F M 166
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Temperature: 2.0
Oak trees, Dead Bushes, Dirt, Terracotta, 6 colors of Terracotta |
This biome features grass and oak trees on top of plateaus, much like its counterpart. However, the plateaus that generate here are generally smaller, allowing far less foliage to generate. The terrain is more erratic in general, and can be compared to that of the similar mesa plateau M biome, having an old and eroded appearance. |
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| Plateau 36, 39
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Temperature: Same as their respective base biomes. | These biomes are similar to the hills biomes, but only generate within savanna and mesa biomes, and are flattened at the top, much like real-life plateaus. They come to rest at an elevation of about 20 to 30 blocks above sea level. One may discover the entrance to a mineshaft within the tall slopes of a mesa plateau. |
 
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| Plateau M 164, 167
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Temperature: Same as their respective base biomes. | Two rare variants of the plateau biomes, which are variants themselves. However, neither of these biomes closely resemble their counterparts.
Compared to the average mesa plateau, this rare variant features more variable terrain and smaller plateaus, as if a larger plateau was weathered down over time. The terrain of the savanna plateau M biome is much less tame than its normal counterpart. It features incredibly large and steep mountains that jut out of the terrain, similar to the savanna M biome, albeit slightly smaller and gentler in comparison. |
 
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| Nether (The Nether) 8
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Netherrack, Glowstone, Soul Sand, Nether Quartz, Ghasts, Blazes, Zombie Pigmen, Nether Fortresses, Wither Skeletons, Lava, Magma cubes, Gravel, Magma Blocks |
This is the biome used to generate the Nether. Within this biome spawn mobs such as ghasts, packs of zombie pigmen and the occasional magma cubes and endermen. Certain structures, such as Nether quartz, glowstone veins, and Nether fortresses will only generate in the Nether. While water cannot be placed in the Nether dimension, ice can, and water lakes (and other Overworld structures) can still generate if the Nether is used in a superflat preset. Beds will explode if used in this biome. |
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Neutral and other biomes
These biomes are usually covered with water and have very little land exposed. Either that, or they have many variants of themselves which are also variants of other non-neutral biomes.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean 0
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Temperature: 0.5
Water, Gravel, Squid, Seagrass, Kelp, Shipwreck, Cold Underwater ruins, Cod mob, Drowned |
A large, open biome made entirely of water going up to y=63, with underwater relief on the sea floor, such as small mountains and plains, usually including gravel. Oceans typically extend under 3,000 blocks in any direction; around 60% of the Overworld's surface is covered in ocean. Small islands with infrequent vegetation can be found in oceans. Passive mobs are unable to spawn on these islands, but hostiles can. Squid spawn in the water, and in Bedrock Edition, ocean biomes are one of the few biomes where squid can be found. Underwater cave entrances can be found frequently at the bottom of the ocean. In the console versions, they surround the edges of the map. |
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| Frozen Ocean 10
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Temperature: 0.0
Ice, Water, Gravel, Clay, Squid, Sand, Drowned, Salmon mob, Iceberg, Seagrass, Kelp, Shipwreck, Cold underwater ruins, Stray, Polar Bear |
A variant of ocean biomes with dark purple water at the surface. It usually generates where cold biomes meet the ocean, but sometimes, it will generate in place of a normal ocean, even when not near a cold biome. Like the cold ocean, it has a gravel seabed and squid swimming about. However, the water's surface is frequently broken up by patches of ice and large icebergs, consisting of packed ice and, occasionally, blue ice. Strays and polar bears can spawn here.[upcoming 1.13] |
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| Deep Ocean 24
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Temperature: 0.5
Water, Gravel, Clay, Squid, Guardians, Elder Guardians, Ocean monuments, Shipwreck, Cold underwater ruins, Kelp, Seagrass, Cod mob, Drowned, Magma Block |
A variation of the ocean biome. In deep ocean biomes, the ocean can exceed 30 blocks in depth, making it twice as deep as the normal ocean. The ground is mainly covered with gravel. Ocean monuments generate in deep oceans, meaning guardian and elder guardian can spawn here. Underwater ravines often generate here, with the top layer of lava being replaced by magma blocks that create bubble columns. |
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| The Void 127
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Temperature: 0.0 | A completely empty biome that generates only a single structure: a 33×33 stone platform with a single block of cobblestone in the center. No mobs (passive or hostile) can spawn without spawn eggs, monster spawners or commands. Can only be accessed through The Void superflat preset. | 
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| Hills 13, 17, 18, 19, 22, 28, 31, 33, 156, 161
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Temperature: Same as their respective base biomes. | Hills are generated within certain biomes (including some of their variants) and are referred in the F3 menu with Hills or Mountains added to their name.
This includes: Forest Hills, Taiga Hills, Cold Taiga Hills, Jungle Hills, Desert Hills, Birch Forest Hills (M), Mega Taiga Hills, Redwood Taiga Hills M, and Ice Mountains. Most hills are gentle rolling slopes on which the usual biome terrain generates, with some sharper cliffs here and there. Ice Mountains are usually taller, with height comparable to Extreme Hills biomes, and has a lower chance of spawning passive mobs during world generation than other biomes (7% versus 10%). Redwood Taiga Hills M are a special case, however. The game code sets the values |
   
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Unused biomes
These biomes don't generate in default worlds, but they can be accessed using the Buffet[upcoming 1.13] & Customized[until 1.13] world type.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Hills Edge 20
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Temperature: 0.2
Grass, Dirt, Stone, Pigs, Sheep, Cows, Wolves, Spruce trees, Oak trees, Snow (occasionally) |
Similar to the jungle edge biome, the extreme hills edge generates exclusively at the edge of extreme hills biomes (or any variant) in order to smooth the transition between biomes. While the terrain is lower and gentler in nature, some areas may reach high enough to be covered by snow. | 
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Upcoming biomes
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This section is a work in progress and needs your help |
These biomes only appear in snapshots of upcoming versions.
| Biome Name and ID | Features | Description | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| The End - Floating islands 40
|
Temperature: 0.5 | Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the empty expanse between the larger islands, populated only by the smaller, circular islands. | 
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| The End - Medium island 41
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Temperature: 0.5 | Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the gradual slope from the hilltops of each island down to the cliffs around the edge. | 
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| The End - High island 42
|
Temperature: 0.5
End Stone, Endermen, Chorus Plants, End Cities, Shulkers, End gateway portals |
Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the hilltops of each island, and is the only biome in the End where chorus trees and end cities will generate. | 
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| The End - Barren island 43
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Temperature: 0.5 | Generates as part of the outer islands of the End. This biome represents the outer rims of each island, with steep cliffs below the edge. | 
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| Warm Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins Pufferfish mobs, Tropical fish mobs, Warm underwater ruins, Coral reef, Sand, Sea Pickles, Seagrass, shipwreck |
A variant of ocean biomes with light green water at the surface. Like the lukewarm ocean, it has a floor made of sand, and like all oceans, it is populated with seagrass. Unlike other ocean biomes, warm oceans allow for the generation of coral reefs and sea pickles, but not kelp. | 
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| Lukewarm Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins, Pufferfish mobs, Tropical fish mobs, Cod mobs, Warm underwater ruins, Sand, Dirt, Clay, Kelp, Seagrass, shipwreck |
A variant of ocean biomes with light teal water at the surface. Its floor is made of sand with the occasional dirt or clay, and it contains kelp and seagrass. Unlike warm ocean biomes, cod can spawn here. | 
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| Cold Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins, Cod mobs, Salmon mobs, Cold underwater ruins, Gravel, Kelp, Seagrass, Dirt, Sand, shipwreck |
A variant of ocean biomes with dark indigo water at the surface. Like regular oceans and frozen oceans, its floor is made up of gravel, although there are scarce patches of dirt and/or sand. Also, salmon are able to spawn in cold ocean biomes. | 
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| Warm Deep Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins, Pufferfish mobs, Tropical fish mobs, Warm underwater ruins, Sand, Kelp, Seagrass, Ocean monuments, Guardians, Elder guardians, shipwreck |
Similar to warm ocean biomes, but twice as deep. Because they are a deep ocean variant, they can generate ocean monuments, resulting in the spawning of guardians, elder guardians, prismarine, and sponges. | 
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| Lukewarm Deep Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins, Pufferfish mobs, Tropical fish mobs, Cod mobs, Warm underwater ruins, Sand, Dirt, Clay, Kelp, Seagrass, Ocean monuments, Guardians, Elder guardians, shipwreck |
Similar to lukewarm ocean biomes, but twice as deep. Because they are a deep ocean variant, they can generate ocean monuments, resulting in the spawning of guardians, elder guardians, prismarine, and sponges. | 
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| Cold Deep Ocean
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Temperature: ? Dolphins, Cod mobs, Salmon mobs, Cold underwater ruins, Gravel, Kelp, Seagrass, Dirt, Sand, Ocean monuments, Guardians, Elder guardians, shipwreck |
Similar to cold ocean biomes, but twice as deep. Like other deep oceans, ocean monuments are able to generate here, which contain guardians, elder guardians, prismarine, and sponges. | 
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| Frozen Deep Ocean
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Temperature: ? Salmon mobs, Cold underwater ruins, Gravel, Kelp, Seagrass, Ice, Ocean monuments, Guardians, Elder guardians, iceberg, shipwreck, Polar Bear, Stray |
Like frozen ocean biomes, the only fish type that can spawn here is salmon, and the floor is made up of gravel. Frozen deep ocean biomes also contain ocean monuments and a deeper floor than normal oceans, like other deep oceans. Also, the surface of the water is often ice, with frequent icebergs and blue ice. Polar bears and strays can also spawn here. | 
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Biome IDs
Each type of biome has its own biome number, shown in the following table. These biome numbers are used when creating a customized superflat world. Main biomes have an ID number from 0 to 127, while biome variations normally have an ID number of 128 + <original biome number>. Two biomes, Warm Deep Ocean (47) and Extreme Hills Edge (20) are no longer naturally generated.
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Biome colors
The temperature and rainfall values of a biome are used when determining the colors of a small selection of blocks: grass, grass blocks, some leaves, vines, and other features such as water and the sky. Blocks such as moss stone, mossy stone bricks and the stems of flowers are not affected by biome coloration.[2]
A biome's rainfall value is typically a value from 0.0 to 1.0, and - as stated above - a biome's temperature starts at a given value at sea level (e.g. 2.0 for Desert or -0.5 for Cold Taiga) and decreases by 0.00166667 for each meter above sea level.
Biome grass and foliage colors are selected from two 256x256 colormap images: grass.png and foliage.png. Both colormaps, shown to the right, can be found in assets\minecraft\textures\colormap. The grass.png colormap sets the colors for the grass block top and sides (along with other types of grass, such as tall grass, ferns, double tall grass, etc.). Meanwhile, the foliage.png colormap sets the colors for tree leaves (with the exception of spruce and birch).
Biome colormaps use a triangular gradient by default. However, only the colors in the lower-left half of the image are used, even though the upper-right side of foliage.png is colored. Furthermore, as shown in the template image to the left, only select few pixels are considered when the colormap is read by the game, and are determined by the code below.
The adjusted temperature and adjusted rainfall values (recognized as AdjTemp and AdjRainfall in the code, respectively) are used when determining which biome color to select from the colormap. Treating the bottom-right corner of the colormap as Temperature = 0.0 and Rainfall = 0.0, the adjusted temperature increases to 1.0 along the X-axis, and the adjusted rainfall increases to 1.0 along the Y-axis. The values used to retrieve the colors are computed as follows:
AdjTemp = clamp( Temperature, 0.0, 1.0 ) AdjRainfall = clamp( Rainfall, 0.0, 1.0 ) * AdjTemp
"clamp" limits the range of the temperature and rainfall to 0.0-1.0. The clamped rainfall value is then multiplied by the 0.0-1.0 adjusted temperature value, which brings its value to be inside the lower left triangle. Some biomes' ranges are shown in the template above; the multiplication makes all the line segments point towards the lower right corner.
At borders between or among biomes, the colors of the block and its eight neighbors are computed and the average is used for the final block color.
Exact temperature and rainfall values for biomes can be found in various projects, e.g. this biome code.
Hard-coded colors
Certain biome colors are hard-coded, which means they are locked into the Minecraft code and are not retrievable from any texture file. Thus, they cannot be modified without the use of external tools, such as MCPatcher/OptiFine, that support the use of custom colormaps.
Swampland color
Swampland temperature, which starts at 0.8, is not affected by altitude. Rather, a Perlin noise function is used to gradually vary the temperature of the swampland. When this temperature goes below -0.1, a lush green color is used (0x4C763C) otherwise it is set to a sickly brown (0x6A7039). In addition, the color of the water in swamplands is always multiplied by a very light green tinge (0xE0FFAE).
Roofed forest color
The roofed forest biomes' grass color is retrieved normally, then averaged with a dark green color (0x28340A) to produce the final color.
Mesa color
All mesa biomes' grass and foliage have hard-coded colors, which are two tan colors (0x90814D and 0x9E814D respectively). These are not modifiable by grass.png and foliage.png, and are unaffected by temperature.
Other colors
Several other biome colors are set into the game and currently require external tools in order to be changed. This includes blocks such as birch and spruce leaves and water (which have a hard-coded overlay set onto them), and other features such as the sky and fog.
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Availability | Xbox points earned | Trophy type (PS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox | PS | Bedrock | Nintendo | ||||||
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| Adventuring Time | Discover 17 of the 40 different biomes | Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wii U, Switch | 40G | Silver |
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| Sail the 7 Seas | Visit all ocean biomes | No | No | Yes | No | 40G | — | |
Videos
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Internal ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Adventuring Time | Discover every biome | Sweet dreams | Visit all of these 40 biomes (4 added in 1.13[upcoming]). Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for the advancement. | minecraft:adventure/adventuring_time |
History
- See also: Biome/Before Beta 1.8
| Alpha | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.4 | Added Winter Mode. Maps now have a snowy or grassy theme randomly determined when creating the world. | ||||
| v1.2.0 | Added true biomes; they were rain forest, seasonal forest, forest, shrubland, taiga, tundra, savanna, plains, swampland, desert, and frozen desert. | ||||
| World saves remained unchanged, other than a change in the hue of the grass. If the player moves into ungenerated chunks, the new biomes would generate. | |||||
| Beta | |||||
| 1.6 | Added the Sky Dimension with its own biome. It could only be viewed through the use of mods and hacks. | ||||
| August 18, 2011 | Notch tweeted a screenshot of a revamped river biome. | ||||
| 1.8 | ? | Biomes got an overhaul, removing some biomes, such as the tundra and the taiga, and others replaced with nine fractal-based biomes that were a mix of the previous biomes and new biomes. See here for more details. | |||
| Official release | |||||
| 1.0.0 | ? | Re-added tundra (as ice plains) and added Mushroom Islands. | |||
| 1.1 | ? | Re-added snow in taigas, added hills and beaches. | |||
| Smoothed color transitions between biomes – swampland grass, foliage and water smoothly transition into other biomes. | |||||
| 1.2.1 | January 18, 2012 | Jens Bergensten tweeted a teaser screenshot of a new jungle biome. | |||
| January 19, 2012 | He tweeted another jungle screenshot, showcasing the bright green foliage. | ||||
| 12w03a | Added jungle biome. | ||||
| 12w07a | The Anvil file format was introduced and it allows for biomes to be stored in the world data. In contrast, the Region file format relies on the seed to dynamically calculate biome placement. This would cause biome placement in older worlds to change when the biome generation code was changed. With the current Anvil format, the biome data is stored along with the rest of the world data, meaning it will not change after the world is generated and can be edited by third-party map-editing tools. Furthermore, "edge" biomes allow for biomes to continue extend beyond the edge chunks of an old world. This allows for smooth transitions in world generation after the generation code changes in an update. | ||||
| 1.3.1 | ? | Hills in forests and deserts are taller. | |||
| 1.6.1 | 13w17a | Water lakes no longer generate in deserts. | |||
| 1.7.2 | August 2, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of the mesa biome. He jokingly referred to them as "disco mountains." | |||
| August 7, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of a mega taiga, unofficially dubbed the Redwood Forest. The name was changed following 1.7's release. | ||||
| August 9, 2013 | Jens tweeted the first image of a stone beach, which was then referred to as a "cliff" biome. | ||||
| 13w36a | Mesa, mega taiga, roofed forest, birch forest, savanna, extreme hills+, deep ocean and snowless taiga biomes were added as well as variations for many of the biomes. Biomes were also separated by temperature, and snowing was added to extreme hills. | ||||
| Biomes will attempt to avoid getting placed next to a biome that is too different from itself, temperature-wise. | |||||
| The frozen ocean and extreme hills edge biomes no longer generate naturally. | |||||
| Biome-hopping achievement "Adventuring Time" added, but it was broken until 1.8 making the goal of getting all achievements impossible in 1.7. | |||||
| 13w38b | Marsh-like areas no longer generate in swamp biomes. | ||||
| 13w39a | Red sand now generates in mesa biomes and their variants. | ||||
| 13w43a | Savannas and roofed forest biomes now generate with new logs and leaves. | ||||
| 1.8 | 14w17a | The End's biome name is now "The End" instead of "Sky". | |||
| Adventuring Time is now available without commands. Before, the 38 biomes had to be visited without visiting any other biomes, which made the achievement unavailable because the End has to be visited for its prerequisite, The End?. The “no other biomes” restriction is now lifted. | |||||
| Visiting the frozen ocean and extreme hills edge biomes, which no longer generate since 13w36a, is no longer required for Adventuring Time. | |||||
| 14w26a | Marsh-like areas generate again in swamp biomes. | ||||
| 14w32a | Red sandstone now generates below red sand in mesa biomes and their variants. | ||||
| 1.9 | 15w37a | Add new biome "The Void", which is used in Superflat preset "The Void". | |||
| 1.10 | 16w20a | Plains and sunflower plains now have some trees (5% of chunks). 1⁄3 large oaks, 2⁄3 normal oaks. | |||
| Ice plains, ice plains spikes and ice mountains don't spawn passive mobs other than rabbits and the new polar bears anymore. | |||||
| In mesa biomes, terracotta no longer generates more than 15 blocks deep, if the mesa is more than 15 blocks above sea level. In addition to the normal 2 veins of gold ore below Y=32, now attempts to generate 20 veins at elevations between 32 and 79. Also can generate dark oak abandoned mineshafts above ground. | |||||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.13 | 18w06a | The outer islands of the End biome are now divided up into four separate biomes: The End - Floating Islands, The End - Medium island, The End - High island, and The End - Barren island. | |||
| 18w08a | Added ocean variants, including warm ocean, lukewarm ocean, cold ocean, warm deep ocean, deep lukewarm ocean, deep cold ocean, and deep frozen ocean. | ||||
| Frozen ocean now generates naturally, for first time since 13w36a. | |||||
| 18w08b | Deep warm ocean biomes no longer generate. | ||||
| 18w16a | Biome names are now translatable. | ||||
| Cleaned up several biome names, mainly by adding missing spaces and changing "Biome M" for "Mutated Biome". | |||||
| 18w19a | Names of several biomes are changed. | ||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added biomes, these 5 biomes include: Plains, Forest, Taiga, Desert, Tundra from PC Version Alpha 1.2.0. | ||||
| 0.1.3 | Cacti now generate in deserts | ||||
| 0.9.0 | build 1 | All biomes as of PC version 1.7.2 have been types of new biomes. These include: Jungles, mesa, roofed forests, savannas, extreme hills, mushroom islands, flower forest, mega taiga, mega spruce taiga, swampland, and deep ocean. | |||
| Frozen Ocean is no longer generated. | |||||
| 0.9.5 | Added bryce mesa, extreme hills +, and jungle M. | ||||
| 0.10.0 | build 1 | Mesa biomes have gold at every elevation and can generate mine shafts on the surface. | |||
| Water in swamps is tinted dark gray. | |||||
| Huge mushrooms generate in swamps | |||||
| 0.11.0 | build 1 | Added birch forest M, birch forest hills M, extreme hills M, and extreme hills+ M. | |||
| build 8 | Changed the default biome. | ||||
| build 10 | Increased the amount of gravel on extreme hills M biome. | ||||
| 0.12.1 | build 1 | Added the Nether biome. | |||
| build 10 | Leaves coloring shaders are now only used when the color for a biome actually changes. | ||||
| 0.16.0 | The biomes can now be viewed on maps based on the grass color. | ||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.0 | ? | Added End biome. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.2 | ? | Added snow to extreme hills. | |||
| 1.2.14 | build 1 | Added Warm Ocean, Lukewarm Ocean, Cold Ocean, and their deep variant, including frozen deep ocean. | |||
| Frozen Ocean now can generate naturally again. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU5 | CU1 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | Added swampland, ice plains, extreme hills and ocean biomes | |
| Removed rain forest, seasonal forest, savanna, shrubland and taiga. | |||||
| TU7 | Re-added tundra (as ice plains) and added Mushroom Islands. | ||||
| TU9 | Re-added beaches and snow in taigas, added hills. | ||||
| Smoothed color transitions between biomes – swampland grass, foliage and water smoothly transition into other biomes. | |||||
| TU12 | Added jungle biome | ||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Hills in forests and deserts are taller. | |||
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | Water lakes no longer generate in deserts. | ||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Added mesa, mega taiga, roofed forest, birch forest, forest, savanna, extreme hills+, deep ocean, snowless taiga and 20 technical biomes. | |
| Changed generation of marsh-like areas in swamp and extreme hills biomes. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Biome" are maintained on the issue tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- The term biome is analogous to its scientific usage: in real life, a biome is climatically and geographically defined by distinctive communities of plants, animals and soil organisms supported by similar climatic conditions. They are often referred to as ecosystems.[3][4]
- The only fictional biomes are the Nether (Hell), the End and those with huge mushrooms. All the others are entirely or almost entirely based on real-life counterparts.
- It is possible for biomes to be a single block in size.[5]
Gallery
Notch took this screenshot while testing a revamped river biome.
The first image of a mega taiga, as tweeted by Jeb.
The same image, brightened.
This is the first picture provided of the mesa biome.
The first image of a stone beach (then called cliff) biome, provided by Jeb.
Jeb's first image of the jungle biome.
Jeb's second jungle teaser screenshot.
A rare mesa variant called Mesa Plateau F M.
An above view of a flower forest biome.
A roofed forest bordering onto a lake.
A large cold taiga biome, with a beach off to the side.
A mountainous mushroom island.
A variant of extreme hills, where large swaths of gravel generate.
A frozen ocean biome, with fog obscuring the distance.
A large river separating a desert and a forest.
A mesa biome as seen from the ground.
A mesa biome with a small lake nearby. An F variant can be seen in the upper corner.
A small area of a jungle with desert biome coloring data.
A desert with a jungle right beside it.
A relatively large island.
A swamp generated in the middle of an ocean, causing miscolored water and lily pads without any actual swampland.
A rare occurrence of a mushroom biome touching the mainland.
A section of a mushroom island that is a different biome.
A rare biome transition of a colder biome touching a warmer biome.(e.g. mesa and ice plains spikes.)
A mesa and jungle biome generated together. Note the exposed mineshaft in the lower right.
A river runs through a flower forest, a sunflower plains, a jungle, and a jungle edge biome.
A river that splits off into two rivers.
Two extreme hills variants. On the left is a normal extreme hills. On the right is an extreme hills+.
Jungle terrain without any trees. A jungle M can be seen to the left.
Comparison of mega taiga and mega spruce biomes. Note how the mega spruce trees are much thicker.
A cave in a mesa biome.
A river biome in 1.13, with visible seagrass in it.
A roofed forest that is cut off by water.
A swampy and roofed forest connecting.
Sunrises and Sunsets
A picture of a jungle taken at dawn.
A jungle sunset.
The sun setting in a mega taiga forest.
A desert sunrise.
References
- ↑ https://mojang.com/2013/08/minecraft-world-generator-update
- ↑ MC-128784 – "Stems of flowers and moss on mossy cobblestone/stone bricks unaffected by biome colouring" as "Invalid"
- ↑ "Biome" on Wikipedia
- ↑ "biome" on Dictionary.com
- ↑ MC-69731 – "Random 1 block biome generating?" resolved as "Won't Fix"
See also
