Basalt is an igneous rock prevalent in the Nether's basalt deltas.
Polished basalt is the polished version of basalt.
Obtaining
Natural generation
Basalt generates naturally as basalt pillars, which are found in the soul sand valley biome. They also generate in basalt deltas biomes as regular terrain and as part of basalt columns.
Both basalt and polished basalt can be found naturally as part of bastion remnants.
Breaking
Basalt drops as an item if mined by any pickaxe. If mined by any other tool, it drops nothing.
| Block | Basalt Polished Basalt | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 1.25 | |
| Tool | ||
| Breaking time[A] | ||
| Default | 6.25 | |
| Wooden | 0.95 | |
| Stone | 0.5 | |
| Iron | 0.35 | |
| Diamond | 0.25 | |
| Netherite | 0.25 | |
| Golden | 0.2 | |
- ↑ Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.
Crafting
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Polished Basalt | Basalt |
Stonecutting
| Name | Ingredients | Cutting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Polished Basalt | Basalt |
Post-generation
A simple basalt generator.
Basalt can also be made by lava flowing into a space that is on top of soul soil and next to blue ice. The flowing lava is replaced with basalt. This mechanic can be used as a basalt generator.
Usage
Basalt's only current use is as building material. 4 polished basalt blocks can be crafted using 4 basalt blocks. Like logs and quartz pillars, basalt points perpendicular to whatever block face it's placed on.
Thanks to its high blast resistance, low flammability, and ready availability, basalt is an excellent material for building bridges and shelters in the Nether. Polished basalt can also be helpful for leaving identifiable breadcrumb trails.
Note Blocks
Basalt and polished basalt can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass drum" sound.
Smelting ingredient
| Ingredients | Smelting recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Basalt + Any fuel |
[upcoming: JE 1.17] |
Sounds
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block placed | Blocks | When the block is placed | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | block | subtitles | 0.25 | 0.5 | 16 | |
| None[sound 1] | Entity-Dependent | Falling on the block with fall damage | block | None[sound 1] | 0.5 | 0.75 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Entity-Dependent | Walking on the block | block | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 |
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocks | Once the block has broken | dig | 1.0 | 0.8-1.0 | |
| Blocks | When the block is placed | use | 1.0 | 0.8-1.0 | |
| Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | hit | 0.23 | 0.5 | |
| Players | Falling on the block with fall damage | fall | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Players | Walking on the block | step | 0.19 | 1.0 | |
| Players | Jumping from the block | jump | 0.12 | 1.0 | |
| Players | Falling on the block without fall damage | land | 0.14 | 1.0 |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Block tags (JE) | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | basalt | Block & Item | base_stone_nether | block.minecraft.basalt |
| Polished Basalt | polished_basalt | Block & Item | None | block.minecraft.polished_basalt |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | basalt | 489 | Block & Giveable Item[i 1] | tile.basalt.name |
| Polished Basalt | polished_basalt | 490 | Block & Giveable Item[i 1] | tile.polished_basalt.name |
Block states
| Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| axis | y
| x | The basalt is oriented east–west. |
y | The basalt is oriented vertically. | ||
z | The basalt is oriented north–south. |
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pillar_axis | 0x10x2 | y
| x | 1 | The basalt is oriented east–west. |
y | 0 | The basalt is oriented vertically. | |||
z | 2 | The basalt is oriented north–south. |
History
| January 12, 2014 | On Reddit, Jeb says that he was considering adding basalt, but did not want to add yet another black block. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28, 2019 | Basalt is shown in a clip at MINECON Live 2019. | ||||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.16 | 20w06a | ||||
| 20w12a | |||||
| Polished basalt can currently be obtained only by smelting the normal basalt block. | |||||
| 20w13a | Basalt can now be formed when lava flows over soul soil next to blue ice, making it renewable. | ||||
| Basalt can no longer be smelted into polished basalt. | |||||
| Polished basalt can now be obtained by crafting 4 blocks of basalt in a 2×2 grid or stonecutting it, similar to other polished stones. | |||||
| 20w15a | Added the Basalt Deltas, a biome in which basalt is abundant. | ||||
| 20w16a | Basalt and polished basalt now generate as part of bastion remnants. | ||||
| Basalt can now generate as part of ruined portals. | |||||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.17 | 21w08a | Basalt can now be smelted to yield Smooth Basalt. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.51 | ||||
| beta 1.16.0.57 | Basalt can now be formed when lava flows over soul soil next to blue ice, making it renewable. | ||||
| Added the Basalt Deltas, a biome in which basalt is abundant. | |||||
| Basalt and polished basalt now generate as part of bastion remnants. | |||||
| beta 1.16.0.59 | Crafting polished Basalt now gives the correct amount of blocks in return.[1] | ||||
| Polished basalt can now be crafted using a stonecutter. | |||||
| 1.16.100 | beta 1.16.100.51 | Basalt now takes longer to break. | |||
| Basalt is said to be immune from ghast fireballs, but is still broken by them[2]. | |||||
| 1.16.200 | beta 1.16.200.56 | Basalt blocks now take slightly more time to destroy again. | |||
| Basalt is now immune to ghast fireballs. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Basalt" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- Geologically, basalt is a volcanic rock that cools from mafic lava flows. Mafic lava is runny, much like Nether lava, and under the right conditions it can cool into the stacks of basalt columns seen in basalt deltas.
- Basalt makes up most of Earth's sea floor, as well as Iceland and the Hawaiian Islands.
- Despite being an extrusive igneous rock, basalt has a lower mining time than granite and diorite, which are intrusive.
- Basalt is the only rock-like block to have both a polished and smooth variant.[upcoming: JE 1.17]