Biome



According to Wikipedia, biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems.

In Minecraft, from the Halloween Update onwards, this means that different areas with varying heights, temperatures, humidity ratings and foliage colors are created.

Before the Halloween Update, when a map was generated it had either a Snowy or Grassy theme. But after the update, a single world includes all themes in a logical fashion determined from the biomes graph.

Biome Types
Biome types may be easily distinguished by the differentiating grass and leaf colors in conjunction with the kind of blocks present, like cacti in deserts and pine trees in pine forests. They are pseudo-randomized based on given seeds.

There are nine biomes in Minecraft 1.1.

Forest


A biome with many trees, occasional hills and a fair amount of tall grass. Oak and Birch trees can be found in this biome. (See Tree for more details with trees in Minecraft.)

Desert


A barren biome consisting mostly of sand, large dunes, dead shrub and cacti. No rain occurs in this biome. Sugar Cane can be found sometimes next to pools of water. It has been told (but not been proven) that more common mobs like the Creeper, Zombie, Skeleton and Spider spawn in the desert than in any other biome. NPC Villages will spawn commonly, and Desert Wells are found exclusively in this biome.

Plains


A relatively flat biome with rolling hills and a large amount of tall grass (more than in any other type of land). The occasional tree does exist, although very rarely. Gullies are also quite common in this biome. NPC villages commonly spawn in this biome. Small woods and water holes can be found within large these plains.

Swamp


A flat biome with swamp-like trees with vines and shallow pools of clay, sand and dirt. The water, grass, leaves, vines and the whole biome in general are much darker. The water have floating lily pads. Mushrooms and sugar canes are moderately common in swamps. Trees can sometimes spawn in the water in this biome. A player should be very careful if exploring this biome with a boat, since crashing into lily pads can very easily destroy the boat.

From 1.8 to 1.0, water and grass was very dark, and the coloring changed sharply and drastically between borderlines with other biomes. But as of 1.1, the transition is much more smoother.

Tundra


A relatively flat biome covered in snow. Instead of rain, it snows in this biome, along with the Taiga. Lakes and rivers are frozen over, and trees (only Oaks are spawned) are scarce. Hills are formed, but are more mountainous. Sugar canes do spawn in this biome, but are destroyed and dropped when the chunks load because of the ice that spreads over open water sources. Tundras are often significantly larger than other biomes in the area.

Taiga


A biome with many pine/spruce trees and dull grey-blue grass. Wolves are also found on this biome more commonly than others. As of 1.8, the player is most likely to spawn in one of these biomes. Snow and ice occur in this biome after Minecraft 1.1.

Mountain


A highly mountainous biome with dull grey-blue grass and few Oak trees, added in the 1.8 Adventure Update. Prior to this update, mountains were found in all types of biomes, but now are uncommon outside this type of land. Cliffs, peaks, valleys, waterfalls, and many other structures are formed, creating an outstanding view for players alike. Players must be careful, though, to not fall off ledges, as it can lead to severe fall damages or death. More underground cave systems are present here than any other biome.

Ocean


A very large, flat open biome made entirely of water, with underwater reliefs such as small mountains and plains and usually includes sand and clay at its bottom. Ocean biomes can go down to 30 blocks deep and the occasional island may exist, as a small version of other biome types. Entrances to underground ravines can be also found at the bottom of the ocean, as well as Abandoned Mine Shafts (whose upper parts are mostly flooded due to the proximity of the ocean). Oceans can be over twenty five thousand blocks wide and/or long.

Mushroom Biome


This rare biome consists of flat landscapes and high hills, has mycelium instead of grass as its common surface block, and tends to appear as islands far from the spawn of a map and any significant landmass. It is the only biome where huge mushrooms can spawn naturally, and where mushrooms can grow in full sunlight.

No mobs other than Mooshrooms (including hostile mobs at night) spawn in this biome. This includes caves, abandoned mines, etc... below Mushroom Biomes, meaning exploring underground is relatively safe. Monster Spawners will still spawn mobs, however, and caution should still be taken when exploring (as sometimes "fingers" of other biomes project into mushroom biomes).

Contrary to popular belief, trees can be grown in this biome, but not next to mycelium, which will take over the dirt square from the sapling and un-plant the sapling. A player can create a mycelium-free zone with cobblestone and grow a tree in the middle of it on freshly placed dirt. A player is also able to place saplings on mycelium and use bonemeal on the sapling to grow it. Otherwise, it is advised to collect wood (and saplings) before settling here.

As of 1.1.0 player made structures in this biome are not exempt from the "no mob spawn" rule: All terrain within the biome will not spawn hostile or passive mobs, even if created by the player.

Upcoming Biomes
Biomes that are to come in the full version of Minecraft.

Jungle


A biome added in Snapshot 12w03a. It consists of tall trees that are two blocks wide along with many small ones. The landscape is quite hilly, with many small lakes of water. Because of these hills, it is possible for a tree to reach the "Building Limit" (See Altitude for more details). This biome will only generate in worlds created using or after the version 12w03a. This is the only biome consisting ferns since their removal in Beta, and the Jungle trees. Leaf "bushes" cover most of the forest floor. There are large amounts of vines that can be climbed (if the vines are directly attached to any block behind it), allowing the player to reach higher areas of the jungle easily.

As of Snapshot 12w04a, Ocelots were added and spawn only in jungles. It has been implied that Slimes will spawn freely on jungle floors.

Technical Biomes
Technical biomes are found alongside or within their bigger counterparts. They are not considered as "true" biomes, but more of as part of the terrain itself. However, these technical biomes serve to be important in the Mincraft world, as they make the land and water look more appealing to the biomes they form in or beside.

There are eight known technical biomes.

River


A biome that consists of water blocks that form in a curvy pattern like rivers. Rivers cut through terrain or separate the main biomes. They attempt to join up with ocean on the other side, but will sometimes loop around to the same area of ocean. They have no current. Rivers have also been known to be a reliable source of clay. Although different than other biomes, they are referred as biomes in the code.

Beach


Generated on the shores of almost any body of water, beaches are composed of sand. Beaches penetrate the landscape, removing the original blocks and placing in sand blocks. For the history in beaches, check out the Generated Structures page.

Mushroom Island Shore


This technical biome represents the flat shore area of the Mushroom Island.

Frozen Ocean


Found near snowy biomes, frozen oceans contain ice on the top layer of water.

Mountain Edge


Acts as a fringe between mountains and most other biomes.

Hills


Hills are generated within certain biomes: Forest, Taiga, Desert, Jungle and Tundra. Each separate area of hill biome spawns one hill in the shape of the area. Tundra biomes spawn mountains instead of hills.

Basin


Basins are made mostly of Stone, but also of other blocks, such as spots of dirt. In geology it would have come from increased erosion because they are unstable, tectonic areas. There is a large misconception in the community that these are errors, however they are an intended feature, and referred to as shields in the source code.

History
Biomes were added in Alpha 1.2.0, also known as the Halloween Update. In Beta 1.8, biomes got an overhaul, removing some biomes and others replaced with nine fractal-based biomes - some old, some new.

Difficulty
It can be difficult to play and gather sufficient resources if one starts in the middle of a biome with no trees, such as deserts, tundras, and especially oceans.

There have been multiple reports of players spawning on tiny islands in the middle of a vast ocean with no trees for several Minecraft days in any direction. It appears that these desert islands generate in the Ocean biome, where animals cannot spawn (on the water); sometimes the island spawns with no trees so players have to delete the world and start again, swim great distances to a landmass, or search for nearby underwater openings into abandoned mineshafts to acquire wood. Of course, this is no problem if the player uses Creative Mode.