Mountains

Mountains or extreme hills are common cold biomes. There are four (nine ) used variants and one unused variant in the biome family.

Description
Mountain biomes feature steep terrain and reach higher elevations than any other biome in the game other than the shattered savanna biomes. The surface is made of grass block, stone, ores and gravel. The standard mountains biome generally peaks at roughly Y-level 140. As the climate is cold, rainfall changes to snowfall above approximately Y-level 92 where stacked snow layers form on blocks above that point, along with water freezing into ice. The grass and leaves are an aqua color, just like those in snowy tundra biomes or taiga biomes. Llamas and Goats may spawn in mountain biomes; they are the only places where goats can spawn and one of two places llamas can spawn, the other place being savanna biomes. Additionally, emerald ore exclusively generates in mountain biomes and infested stone patches generate below sea level.

The exact height at which rain ends and snow starts is randomized between Y levels 91 and 98. More specifically, the lowest possible snow layer should form at Y level 91, and the lowest height at which snow always forms is Y level 98.

Mountain biomes have some unusual features and formations compared to other biomes due to the terrain generation algorithm.

Floating blocks and even small floating islands are common, as are overhangs and large waterfalls (occasionally, even lavafalls). This can create some impressive views at times. These oddities are magnified in shattered savannas.

Survival in mountain biomes can be challenging to beginners, due to the heights often risking heavy fall damage and higher elevations bringing snow and ice, but can be fairly easy once the player has acclimated to the area and found or made a flat-enough space for shelter. Llamas can also serve as useful pack animals when tamed. Water must be protected by light or a roof to prevent it from freezing when above the snowfall line, however, and the player must be aware of their surroundings to avoid falling off steep cliffs, especially when fighting hostile mobs. Care should also be taken when mining in mountain biomes, due to infested stone occasionally generating; the player might get swarmed with silverfish if they're not prepared.

Water buckets can be used to climb mountains, by dumping the water onto a higher ledge and climbing up to the ledge. The player can safely collect the water into the bucket and repeat the procedure until the player is on top of the mountain. Water can also be used to collect snowballs from the mountains if snow generates there.

Mountain biomes generate within clusters of lush and cold biomes, commonly found next to taiga, forest, or plains biomes. Oak trees occasionally generate in place of some spruce trees.

Variants
There are a total of five (ten in Bedrock 1.18.0) mountain variant biomes, including one whose generation has been discontinued in new worlds.

Mountains
The mountains biome is the normal mountain variant. This biome features the standard stony and grassy terrain (with sporadically generated oak and spruce trees).

As in most mountain variants, llamas can spawn here, and silverfish-infested blocks and emerald ore generate naturally.

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Wooded Mountains
The wooded mountains generate groves of oak and spruce trees. This variant does not feature the stony terrain so that the trees can generate. This biome also generates standalone as a thick separation when a desert is bordering a snowy biome.

While the increased wood supply can be useful, the risk of fatal fall damage still exists, especially if this variant generates on the edge of a mountain range and border a river or another low-elevation biome.

Wooded mountains use the same mob spawning chances as mountains.

Gravelly Mountains
The rare gravelly mountains variant replaces the top few layers of stone and grass with gravel across its landscape.

Due to the gravel replacing most of the grass, trees generate far less often, making this variant relatively barren. Players should be careful when surfacing from underground in this biome, as the top layers of gravel can pose a suffocation hazard.

Gravelly mountains use the same mob spawning chances as mountains.

Gravelly Mountains+
Gravelly mountains+ (also reffered to as modified gravelly mountains in the F3 menu) is a rare variant of the wooded mountains biome that has the exact same features as the regular gravelly mountains, making this biome indistinct from the former. The peaks are still covered in gravel, large valleys often generate among the peaks and the trees are still quite sparse in this biome, making this a difficult biome for survival, due to its barrenness being combined with steep terrain. Differently however, it can rarely generate standalone as a thick separation when a desert lakes biome is bordering a snowy biome.

Gravelly mountains+ use the same mob spawning chances as mountains.

Mountain Edge
The mountain edge variant is a currently unused variant. Similarly to the jungle edge biome, it was a technical biome intended to provide a smooth transition from other biomes to the mountains. It is similar to the taiga hills biome, but with a few oak trees. The terrain was gentler and not as steep as the normal mountains, with oak and spruce trees growing. This biome was phased out in the Java Edition 1.7.2 update development and does not generates naturally, though can still be seen using the Buffet world option or addons.

Mountain edges use the same mob spawning chances as mountains.

Upcoming
There are 5 additional height-dependent sub-biomes which make up a mountains biome. Several biomes can occupy the same X and Z coordinates, varying only along the Y level. Coal, iron, and emerald ores can be found at higher altitude than other biomes. In Bedrock Edition, these biomes are bordered by forest or flower forest and do not generate stone shores when next to an ocean (forest will just cut to ocean instead). These new mountains generate with either plains, desert, forest, jungle, ocean, or snowy tundra as base biomes, which result being connected or even completely surrounded by those biomes. In Java Edition these biomes don't generate forest or flower forest border, so they can generate from sea level altitude.

Mountain Meadow
The mountain meadow generates between about Y-level 100 to 140 on a mountain. It features a large flat field filled with patches of flowers and grass. In Bedrock Edition, Sweet berry bushes, cornflowers and dandelions can be found here. In Java Edition all small flowers generate except tulips, lilies of the valley and wither roses. Trees do not naturally generate here, however, In Java Edition pillager outposts and villages can. Meadow villages look like plains villages.

Mountain Grove
The mountain grove generates from about Y-level 110 to 140 on a mountain, and creates a forest of spruce trees on the lower slopes of a mountain. Rabbits or Polar Bears spawn in this biome. The surface is also covered with snow, snow blocks and powder snow.

Snowy Slopes
The snowy slopes generates from about Y-level 140 to 170 on a mountain. It is also covered in snow, snow blocks and powder snow, plus a bit of Ice. Goats spawn only in this biome.

Lofty Peaks
The lofty peaks is one of the two highest mountain biomes, which generates above Y-level 170 on a mountain. Whether the lofty peaks or snow capped peaks biome generates depends on temperature. This biome will only generate on mountains that are tall enough to generate it. This biome is covered with snow and ice blocks.

Snow Capped Peaks
The snow capped peaks is one of the two highest mountain biomes, which generates above Y-level 170 on a mountain. Whether the lofty peaks or snow capped peaks biome generates depends on temperature. This biome will only generate on mountains that are tall enough to generate it. This biome is not only covered by even more snow and ice, but packed ice as well.

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