Every specific group of blocks purposefully formed in Minecraft based on coding is part of a natural structure.
The Overworld
The Overworld contains numerous generated structures, at a wide variety of scales.
Terrain
Biomes dictate the shape and height of the world. At this stage, the ground is made mostly of stone and stone variants, with water filling in most empty spaces below layer 63, with exception for structures.
Mountain
Mountains are hills with extreme slopes and cliffs. Mountains can sometimes have caves through them. On an amplified world, mountains are extremely common in all biomes except ocean and swamp biomes.
Floating "island"
Floating "islands" are structures that float in midair that are not connected to the ground, the sea, hills or cliffs. Floating "islands" are normally just random pieces of floating dirt and stone found near cliffs, but on rare occasions they can be large, floating structures that even have springs and trees on them. Floating Islands are most frequently found in mountains biomes (and its variants), along with the "hills", "mountains", and "modified" variants of most biomes, especially shattered savannas.
Hollows
Hollows are the opposite of floating islands. They look like caves, but they have nothing to do with cave generation (although they may intersect with them). When there are many overhangs, they close together and create a hollow. They have exactly the same floor as the terrain above, depending on the biome that they are located in, unlike caves. Hollows have no specific floor. Grass blocks can generate inside too, and interestingly will survive without light. When they generate under the sea level, they are filled with water. They are extremely rare in the default world, but can be found far more commonly in certain customized worlds.
Hill
Hills are randomly generated pieces of land in the map. Like stairs, hills are always traversable to their lowest point by virtue of the algorithm which generates them; there is almost always a place on each level from where the next level can be accessed, meaning that the player can climb a hill one level at a time until they reach the top. Cases where this is not true are rare.
A randomly-generated hill with some tall grass and trees.
Surface
Surface layer
The uppermost layers of the terrain are converted to a biome-dependent material: usually grass blocks and dirt, or sand in deserts and beaches. Podzol is found in giant tree taiga, mycelium in mushroom field biomes, and red sand is found in the badlands biome. Sandstone is generated under sand.
Basin
Occasionally, instead of being converted to dirt or sand, the top layer is stripped away, leaving a 'basin' of bare stone. They bear some resemblance to a geological 'shield' (an area of tectonically stable rock that has been exposed to prolonged erosion due to its very old age; it is distinct from the geological term "basin"). They seem to be more common in forest or plains, and are occasionally seen filled with water. Commonly, minerals can be found in these, generally coal ore and iron ore. If generated in a Badlands biome, gold ore can also be seen.
- Biomes Basin.png
A naturally generated basin landform.
Water bodies
Lake
Lakes are small bodies of liquid. Water lakes, which are small pools of water springs, can generate above sea level or inside caverns. They can also generate isolated underground, connected to no other structures whatsoever. When in a winter biome, these small lakes are never initially frozen but will turn to ice if exposed. The lakes can also be composed of lava; however, lakes of lava are much rarer. Lava lakes found at the surface are surrounded by stone (which can be replaced by ore veins such as dirt, gravel and coal). Both types of lake generate with a small air pocket above them, which may result in floating sand, floating snow cover or even the top 2/3rds of trees above the lake. Lava lakes may cause trees to burn away.
A lake in a plains biome.
- Mesa Lava Lake.png
A lava lake in a badlands biome.
Coral reef
Coral reefs are structures that generate in warm ocean biomes. They consist of multiple clusters of coral blocks, coral and coral fans. These clusters come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, ranging from a few blocks of brain coral on the ground to large tree-like structures of fire coral.
A coral reef as of snapshot 18w14b.
Large structures
Cave
Cave are caverns and tunnels that are automatically generated under the ground in various places, composed of primarily stone and ores. Flooded caves are also able to generate in ocean biomes.
A dark cave with a zombie.
Ravine
Ravines are tall, thin trenches that generate either underground or at the surface, and extend 30 - 50 blocks downwards or to bedrock level in the Bedrock Edition. Ravines can spawn in the ocean making it look like underwater trenches.
Two ravines open to the sky that generated next to each other, with a river biome between them.
Mineshaft
Mineshafts are structures generated underground (partially above ground in badlands biomes) which consist of branching mining tunnels with wooden supports and broken rails passing through it. They are the only places where cave spider spawners and minecarts with chests can be found naturally.
- AbandonedMineshaftRoom.png
A large cubic dirt room found in a mineshaft.
Stronghold
Strongholds are underground structures made up of stone bricks, monster eggs, and iron bars. They consist of many rooms, most notably libraries and end portal rooms. Although they are very rare, they can be found much more easily by using an eye of ender.
Small structures
The quantity of most of these features (aside from dungeons, mineral veins, and springs) is biome-dependent; not all features can be found in every biome.
Dungeon
Dungeons are small, mostly underground, one-room spaces bordered by moss stone and cobblestone, and typically contain chests with rare items, and a monster spawner in the center, which will spawn zombies, skeletons, or spiders.
Mineral vein
A mineral vein is a natural deposit of ores. Players can come across these veins in caverns or anywhere where there is natural stone. Underground deposits of dirt and gravel are generated in this step, followed by the more precious ores: coal, iron, gold, redstone, diamond, emerald (in mountains biomes) and lapis lazuli. They can only form in stone, and do not replace each other or any other block. However, there is one exception: other ores can replace andesite, diorite and granite. Note that two or more mineral veins can form next to each other and make it look like a mineral vein made of more than one material.
- MultipleOreVeins.png
Multiple ores generated above an underground lava lake.
A coal vein generated underwater.
- Oreveinmultiples.png
Multiple ore veins in a cave. Diamond ore and redstone ore as well as coal ore and gold ore are visible in the distance.
Tree
Trees are common structures created both during world generation and by players (grown from saplings). They are made of wood and leaves, and in Bedrock Edition and Legacy Console Edition, might have vines or mushrooms (as dying trees and fallen trees respectively).
Huge mushroom
Huge mushrooms are structures made up by mushroom blocks in the shape of a mushroom. They naturally generated in mushroom fields, swamps[Bedrock Edition only], and dark forests, and will also generate if the player uses bone meal on a mushroom.
Spring
Springs are randomly generated blocks of either lava or water that act as a source of their respective material. While both can be found on the vertical side of stone blocks above the surface, lava springs are more often found underground beneath layer 32 in caverns and mineshafts. They do not generate above a certain Y altitude.
Desert well
These well-like structures built of sandstone blocks and slabs generate only in the desert biome. They have a 1/1000 chance to be generated in any desert chunk, which makes them a rare sight. It is possible for a well to generate around a cactus. The well structure will still generate with the "Generate Structures" option disabled. In Bedrock Edition, it is common to find two desert wells spawning in the same chunk.
Moss stone boulder
These structures are meant to represent boulders, made entirely of moss stone. The arrangement of these structures varies greatly. They can be found dotted around areas of the Giant Tree Taiga biome. Moss stone boulders are quite rare, due to the giant tree taiga biome's rarity.
- Moss Stone boulder in a ravine.png
A moss stone boulder generated in a ravine.
- Moss Stone boulder in a beach.png
Many moss stone boulders in water.
Ice spike
Ice spikes are tall spires made of packed ice that can only be found in the snowy tundra biomes. There are two variants of ice spikes: one is short and thick, and the other is extremely tall and thin.
Fossil
Fossils represent the remains of giant extinct creatures, and are composed of bone blocks, with random blocks removed and some of them replaced with coal ore.
Buried treasure
Buried treasure structures consist of a single chest buried in the beach sand or gravel, with random loot in it.
Shipwreck
Shipwrecks are structures that generate on the floor of oceans or beaches. They are made up of wood materials, and contain 1-3 loot chests. They can generate sideways, upside-down, or upright.
Iceberg
Icebergs are structures that generate in frozen oceans and their deep variants. They consist primarily of packed ice with a little bit of ice and blue ice, and will often be topped with snow. They are the only place where blue ice can be found naturally. Icebergs generate in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from small "islands" to giant mountain-like ice structures. They can also generate with "cave-like" holes in them, which sometimes reach to the other side of the iceberg. Polar bears can also spawn here, much like other cold biomes.
Buildings
Buildings are naturally generating structures that form above ground. They can contain valuable treasure, but traps and puzzles as well.
Village
Villages are generated in desert, plains, taiga, and savanna biomes, and are a site for villagers, with whom the player can trade. They are composed of a random selection of various buildings and farms.
Desert pyramid
Desert temples, or desert pyramid[Java Edition only] are pyramid-shaped structures found in deserts, composed of mainly sandstone and stained terracotta. There is a hidden chamber in the middle of the temple, containing 4 treasure chests and a TNT trap. They always generate with their floor on layer 64.
Jungle pyramid
Jungle temples or jungle pyramid[Java Edition only] are found in jungles, and mainly consist of cobblestone and moss stone. There are three floors, the bottom floor containing treasure chests, tripwire-activated traps and a puzzle consisting of three levers that must be pulled in the correct combination to reveal one of the chests.
Swamp hut
Witch huts or swamp hut[Java Edition only] are structures that generate in swamp biomes that have the ability to spawn witches. They are composed of several types of wood materials, and contain a crafting table, cauldron, and flower pot inside.
- Witch hut on top cave.jpeg
A witch hut at the top of a cave.
Woodland mansion
Woodland mansions are massive house structures that generate in dark forests, containing a wide variety of rooms. They are the only place where evokers, vindicators, and vexes spawn naturally (but only once) (until 1.14, since as of 1.14 they can spawn as part of raids).
Monument
Monuments are underwater structures that generate in deep oceans. They are composed of all three variants of prismarine and sea lantern, and are the only places where guardians and elder guardians spawn naturally.
- Protrusion Room.jpg
An elder guardian roaming around the monument.
Igloo
Igloos are structures that generate in snowy biomes. The structure consists of the igloo house and in some cases, a basement hidden under the carpet.
Underwater ruins
Underwater ruins are clusters of many different blocks that generate underwater in ocean biomes, as well as on the surface on beaches. They come in many different variants - the cold variants consist primarily of stone bricks and the warm consist primarily of sandstone. Some contain chests inside them.
Upcoming structures
These structures have not been implemented into a full version yet but have appeared in snapshots of an upcoming version of Java Edition. (Refer to 1.14)
Pillager outpost
Pillager outposts generate in desert, plains, taiga, and savanna biomes, and are inhabited by pillagers.
The Nether
The Nether, though equally vast, contains far fewer types of generated structures than the Overworld.
Lava sea
Lava seas are found at and below level 30 in the Nether. They make a large portion of the Nether, and are extremely common. They can stretch for hundreds of meters in any direction, and are usually bordered by netherrack (or more rarely soul sand).
A lava sea with ghasts taking a dip in it.
Fortress
Fortresses are very large complexes made mainly of nether bricks (with added nether brick fences and stairs to be found). They contain blaze spawners, nether wart farms, and loot chests in them.
A nether fortress generated in the Nether.
A nether wart room with nether wart growing on soul sand located within a nether fortress.
Glowstone clusters
Glowstone clusters are typically veins of glowstone that can be among the hardest natural materials to harvest that don't require digging. They form in coral-like structures on the underside of hanging Netherrack, so they are often found on the ceilings of the Nether, where they provide light along with the ever present lava.
Other things located in the Nether
There are areas of soul sand and gravel around layer 64, veins of nether quartz ore, large "veins" of magma blocks and "hidden lava", which is a single block of lava generated randomly between netherrack.
Hidden lava and nether quartz ore.
The End
The End is the final and most barren dimension, with very few types of significant structures, until after defeating the Ender Dragon, which will open gateways to more structures.
The Central Island
The center of the End is a large, asteroid-like island composed entirely of end stone, floating in the void. At a distance of 1000 blocks away, an endless expanse of more islands begins, away from the main island. These consist of large islands, about the size of the main island, and smaller ones, which are usually very thin and small.
Obsidian pillar
Obsidian pillars, also known as obsidian spikes or obsidian towers, are tall, tower-like structures that generate in The End in a circle around the fountain. The End crystals on top of each one will heal the Ender Dragon.
Obsidian platform
The obsidian platform is a 5 by 5 square of obsidian that is generated once a player enters the End. (Note that if the obsidian is destroyed, or if a block is placed on top of it, when the player enters the End, the obsidian will be restored and any blocks on top of it will despawn.) Obsidian platforms generate at X, Y, Z = 100(100.5), 48, 0(0.5), mostly far away from the island, making it tough to get there. Players who enter the end will spawn at X, Y, Z = 100, 49, 0 and the other entities that enter the end will spawn at X, Y , Z = 100.5, 50, 0.5, the middle of platform and 1 block higher than the platform.
- Sometimes the platform generates inside a case of end stone. It will remove enough end stone so that the player can walk around.
- Occasionally the platform will generate in midair.
Exit portal
The exit portal is a structure that generates when the player goes to the End. It will activate after the player has killed the ender dragon, allowing them to go back to the Overworld.
End gateway portal
The end gateway portal is a portal to quickly get to the outer islands of the End. It can only be accessed via a one-block gap, meaning that ender pearls or an elytra is required to use it (until 1.13, since as of 1.13 players can swim through 1x1-gaps, requiring water to be placed correctly).
End city
End cities are tall castle-like structures that generate in the outer islands of the End, consisting primarily of end stone bricks, purpur blocks, and end rods. They are the only places where shulkers can be found.
End ship
End ships are common floating structures that are often generated alongside end cities. They are the only place where the elytra and the dragon head can be legitimately obtained.
Chorus tree
Chorus trees generate on the outer islands of the end. They are formed in tall, coral-like patterns.They consist of chorus stems and chorus flowers. A chorus flower will generate at the top of each branch. They are the only source of chorus fruit and chorus flowers. The player can grow a new chorus tree by planting a flower on a block of endstone.
Return portal
Return portals are end gateway portals that generate randomly throughout the outer End islands. These will teleport the player back to the center island's spawn platform.
Technical details
Structures are generated for a given chunk after the terrain has been formed. The chunk format includes a tag called TerrainPopulated that indicates whether structures whose point of origin is in that chunk have been generated. If it is false or missing, they will be generated again. Structure generation is based on what is already in the chunk, so (for example) flagging a chunk that has already been populated for repopulation will approximately double the amount of ore in it.
When structures are generated, they can spill over into neighboring chunks that have been previously generated. Thus, a tree at the edge of the generated world (and probably only visible using external tools) may be overwritten by a lake before the player reaches it. It is also theoretically possible for two worlds generated with the same seed, from the same version of Minecraft, to differ slightly depending on the players' travel routes, because the order in which chunks are generated may determine which of two conflicting structures will overwrite or suppress the other.
Videos
Structure/video
History
| pre-classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave game tech test | Development on "Cave Game" started; caverns added. | ||||
| classic | |||||
| 0.0.12a | Added ocean around map. | ||||
| 0.0.14a | Added trees. At this point they were simply stumps covered with a thin leaf layer. | ||||
| 0.0.15a (Multiplayer Test 1) | Trees have a new shape. | ||||
| August 25, 2009 | Video uploaded showing changed cavern generation; longer and narrower caverns, and bigger caves the deeper you travel. | ||||
| Surface lava lakes shown to be possible but unlikely, despite existing as early as 0.0.12a_03. | |||||
| infdev | |||||
| March 20, 2010 | Re-added trees. | ||||
| June 25, 2010, 2 | Added dungeons. | ||||
| alpha | |||||
| v1.0.1 | Caves can be far bigger and more expansive. | ||||
| v1.2.0 | preview | Added the Nether and all Nether-related generated structures, except for nether fortresses and magma veins. | |||
| v1.2.6 | Added small lakes and rare lava pools, both on the surface and randomly in caves. | ||||
| beta | |||||
| 1.8 | Pre-release | Added abandoned mineshafts. | |||
| Added villages. | |||||
| Added strongholds. | |||||
| Added huge mushrooms. | |||||
| Added river biomes and vast oceans. | |||||
| Sand and gravel beaches removed due to the changes in the terrain generation algorithm. | |||||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease | Added nether fortresses. | |||
| Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4 | Added the End and End-related generated structures, including the End island, the obsidian platform, the obsidian towers and the end fountain. | ||||
| 1.1 | 12w01a | Sand beaches have made a return, but the way they look and generate are not the same as before. | |||
| 1.2.1 | 12w04a | Desert wells were added. | |||
| 12w07a | The generation of beaches has been greatly improved. | ||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w21a | Added desert temples. | |||
| 12w22a | Added jungle temples. | ||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w40a | Added witch huts. | |||
| 1.6.1 | 13w17a | Water oases no longer generate in deserts. | |||
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Gravel beaches have been returned to the terrain. | |||
| Mountains now generate as part of the "M" biome variants. | |||||
| The desert oases appear in the desert M biome. | |||||
| Moss stone boulders were added. | |||||
| 1.8 | 14w25a | Added ocean monuments. | |||
| 1.8.1 | pre1 | New witch huts can spawn witches Y 64 to 71. This allows for three spawning floors for witches. | |||
| 1.9 | 15w31a | Added the outer islands of the End. | |||
| Added the end city dungeon. | |||||
| Added chorus trees. | |||||
| Added the end gateway portal. | |||||
| 15w43a | Added igloos with a 50% chance of having a basement. | ||||
| 1.10 | 16w20a | Added bone and coal ore fossils. | |||
| 16w21a | Blacksmiths now generate with cobblestone in all biomes, rather than acacia logs in savannas and sandstone in deserts. | ||||
| pre1 | Zombie villagers generated in zombie villages no longer despawn. | ||||
| Wooden fences are now substituted with the correct wood type for the biome. | |||||
| Paths no longer replace most blocks, instead considering the blocks underneath, preventing them from generating in treetops or bridging ravines. | |||||
| 1.11 | 16w39a | Added woodland mansions. | |||
Added /locate command that shows the coordinates of the nearest structures. | |||||
| 1.13 | 17w43a | Structures using structure files can now be modified, with the addition of data packs. | |||
| 17w47a | Flower pots in witch huts now have a mushroom inside of them; previously they were empty. | ||||
| 18w08a | Caves and ravines can now generate underwater. | ||||
| Frozen Ocean have made a return, but without customized, they look and generate, but are not the same unused. | |||||
| 18w09a | Added underwater ruin structures. | ||||
| 18w10a | Added buried treasure structures. | ||||
| 18w10d | Added coral reefs. | ||||
| 18w11a | Added shipwrecks. | ||||
| 18w15a | Added icebergs. | ||||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.14 | 18w47a | Added pillager outposts. | |||
| 18w48a | Overhauled villages. | ||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added beaches, ocean, frozen ocean, cliffs, mountains, basin, mineral vein, trees. | ||||
| 0.7.0 | Added gravel beaches. | ||||
| 0.9.0 | build 1 | Added villages, caves, lava pools, rivers, abandoned mineshafts, huge mushrooms, moss stone boulders, strongholds, ice patches, ice spikes, dungeons and desert wells. | |||
| Frozen oceans are now no longer generated. | |||||
| Removed gravel beaches. | |||||
| 0.10.0 | build 1 | Abandoned mineshafts generate above ground in mesa biomes. | |||
| 0.11.0 | build 1 | Added desert wells. | |||
| 0.12.1 | build 1 | Added the Nether along with lava oceans, glowstone clusters, Nether Fortresses, soul sand beaches, hidden lava, gravel beaches, and Nether quartz veins. | |||
| 0.13.0 | build 1 | Added desert temples. | |||
| 0.14.0 | build 1 | Added witch huts. | |||
| Cauldrons will now generate with a random potion. | |||||
| 0.15.0 | build 1 | Added jungle temples. | |||
| Added savanna and taiga village variants. | |||||
| Villages can generate in cold taiga and ice plains biomes. Buildings are made out of spruce wood like taiga villages. | |||||
| Villages have a 2% chance to generate as zombie villages. Buildings in zombie villages contain cobweb and moss stone. | |||||
| 0.16.0 | build 1 | Added ocean monuments. | |||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.0 | alpha 0.17.0.1 | Added the End and End-related generated structures, including the End islands, the obsidian platform, the obsidian towers, the end fountain, end cities, end gateways and chorus trees. | |||
| Added igloos. | |||||
| 1.1 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | Added woodland mansions. | |||
| 1.1.3 | alpha 1.1.3.0 | Added fossils. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.2 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Added ravines. | |||
| 1.4 | beta 1.2.14.2 | Added buried treasure structures. | |||
| Added shipwrecks. | |||||
| Added icebergs. | |||||
| Added coral reefs. | |||||
| Ravines can now generate underwater. | |||||
| Frozen oceans have made a return, but the way they look and generate are not the same as before. | |||||
| beta 1.2.20.1 | Added underwater ruins. | ||||
| Caves can now generate underwater. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU5 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Patch 1 | Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, strongholds and ravines. |
| Sand and gravel beaches removed due to the changes in the terrain generation algorithm. | |||||
| TU9 | Added the End along with End-related structures such as the End island, the obsidian platform, the obsidian towers and the end fountain. | ||||
| Sand beaches have made a return, but the way they look and generate are not the same as before. | |||||
| TU12 | Desert wells were added. | ||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Added jungle and desert temples. | |||
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | Added witch huts. | ||
| Water oases will now no longer generate in deserts. | |||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Added ocean monuments. | |
| TU43 | CU33 | 1.36 | Patch 13 | Added fossils and igloos. | |
| TU54 | CU44 | 1.52 | Patch 24 | Patch 4 | Added woodland mansions. |
| TU68 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Added shipwrecks, underwater ruins, coral reefs, icebergs, underwater caves and ravines, and buried treasure chests. | ||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 1.7.10 | Added chorus plants. | ||||
Trivia
- In previous versions, before snow cover was solid, a lava lake with floating snow cover above it could be a deadly trap before the snow melted.
- The smallest possible fully-grown chorus tree (assuming the growth is not obstructed) would have 5 chorus plants.
See also
- Biome
- History of biomes and generated structures
- Generated structures data file format








































































































