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This article is about the block. For other uses, see Basalt (disambiguation).

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
  1. 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

Basalt generator

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. It always generates vertically (including in a generator), so this can be useful in marking artificially placed blocks including with respect to directions.

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


0.1
[upcoming: JE 1.17]

Sounds

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.basalt.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.basalt.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.basalt.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.250.516
None[sound 1]Entity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.basalt.fallNone[sound 1]0.50.7516
FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.basalt.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016
  1. a b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksOnce the block has brokendig.basalt1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placeduse.basalt1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.basalt0.230.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.basalt0.41.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.basalt0.191.0
PlayersJumping from the blockjump.basalt0.121.0
PlayersFalling on the block without fall damageland.basalt0.141.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tags (JE)Translation key
BasaltbasaltBlock & Itembase_stone_netherblock.minecraft.basalt
Polished Basaltpolished_basaltBlock & ItemNoneblock.minecraft.polished_basalt

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormTranslation key
Basaltbasalt489Block & Giveable Item[i 1]tile.basalt.name
Polished Basaltpolished_basalt490Block & Giveable Item[i 1]tile.polished_basalt.name
  1. a b Available with /give command.

Block states

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description
axisy xThe basalt is oriented east–west.
yThe basalt is oriented vertically.
zThe basalt is oriented north–south.

Bedrock Edition:

NameMetadata Bits Default value Allowed valuesValues for
Metadata Bits
Description
pillar_axis0x1
0x2
y x1The basalt is oriented east–west.
y0The basalt is oriented vertically.
z2The basalt is oriented north–south.

History

January 12, 2014On Reddit, Jeb says that he was considering adding basalt, but did not want to add yet another black block.
September 28, 2019Basalt is shown in a clip at MINECON Live 2019.
Java Edition
1.1620w06aBasalt Axis Y JE1 BE1Basalt Axis X JE1 BE1Basalt Axis Z JE1 BE1 Added basalt.
20w12aPolished Basalt Axis Y JE1 BE1Polished Basalt Axis X JE1 BE1Polished Basalt Axis Z JE1 BE1 Added polished basalt.
Polished basalt can currently be obtained only by smelting the normal basalt block.
20w13aBasalt 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.
20w15aAdded the Basalt Deltas, a biome in which basalt is abundant.
20w16aBasalt and polished basalt now generate as part of bastion remnants.
Basalt can now generate as part of ruined portals.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.1721w08a Basalt can now be smelted to yield Smooth Basalt.
Bedrock Edition
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.51Basalt Axis Y JE1 BE1Basalt Axis X JE1 BE1Basalt Axis Z JE1 BE1 Polished Basalt Axis Y JE1 BE1Polished Basalt Axis X JE1 BE1Polished Basalt Axis Z JE1 BE1 Added basalt and polished basalt.
beta 1.16.0.57Basalt 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 1.16.0.59Crafting polished Basalt now gives the correct amount of blocks in return.[1]
Polished basalt can now be crafted using a stonecutter.
1.16.100beta 1.16.100.51Basalt now takes longer to break.
Basalt is said to be immune from ghast fireballs, but is still broken by them[2].
1.16.200beta 1.16.200.56Basalt 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]

References

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