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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

"Mountain" redirects here. For the biome, see Mountains.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Large structures

Cave

Main article: 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.

Ravine

Main article: Cave § 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.

Mineshaft

Main article: 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.

Stronghold

Main article: 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

Main article: 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.

Tree

Main article: 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

Main article: 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.

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

Main article: 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

Main article: Buried treasure

Buried treasure structures consist of a single chest buried in the beach sand or gravel, with random loot in it.

Shipwreck

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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.

Woodland mansion

Main article: 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

Main article: 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.

Igloo

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Information icon
This feature is exclusive to Java Edition. 

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

Main article: Pillager outpost

Pillager outposts generate in desert, plains, taiga, and savanna biomes, and are inhabited by pillagers.

The Nether

Main article: 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).

Fortress

Main article: 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.

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.

The End

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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 testDevelopment on "Cave Game" started; caverns added.
classic
0.0.12aAdded ocean around map.
0.0.14aAdded 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, 2009Video 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, 2010Re-added trees.
June 25, 2010, 2Added dungeons.
alpha
v1.0.1Caves can be far bigger and more expansive.
v1.2.0previewAdded the Nether and all Nether-related generated structures, except for nether fortresses and magma veins.
v1.2.6Added small lakes and rare lava pools, both on the surface and randomly in caves.
beta
1.8Pre-releaseAdded 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
1.0.0Beta 1.9 PrereleaseAdded nether fortresses.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4Added the End and End-related generated structures, including the End island, the obsidian platform, the obsidian towers and the end fountain.
1.112w01aSand beaches have made a return, but the way they look and generate are not the same as before.
1.2.112w04aDesert wells were added.
12w07aThe generation of beaches has been greatly improved.
1.3.112w21aAdded desert temples.
12w22aAdded jungle temples.
1.4.212w40aAdded witch huts.
1.6.113w17aWater oases no longer generate in deserts.
1.7.213w36aGravel 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.
1.814w25aAdded ocean monuments.
1.8.1pre1New witch huts can spawn witches Y 64 to 71. This allows for three spawning floors for witches.
1.915w31aAdded the outer islands of the End.
Added the end city dungeon.
Added chorus trees.
Added the end gateway portal.
15w43aAdded igloos with a 50% chance of having a basement.
1.1016w20aAdded bone and coal ore fossils.
16w21aBlacksmiths now generate with cobblestone in all biomes, rather than acacia logs in savannas and sandstone in deserts.
pre1Zombie 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.
1.1116w39aAdded woodland mansions.
Added /locate command that shows the coordinates of the nearest structures.
1.1317w43aStructures using structure files can now be modified, with the addition of data packs.
17w47aFlower pots in witch huts now have a mushroom inside of them; previously they were empty.
18w08aCaves 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.
18w09aAdded underwater ruin structures.
18w10aAdded buried treasure structures.
18w10dAdded coral reefs.
18w11aAdded shipwrecks.
18w15aAdded icebergs.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.1418w47aAdded pillager outposts.
18w48aOverhauled villages.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.1.0Added beaches, ocean, frozen ocean, cliffs, mountains, basin, mineral vein, trees.
0.7.0Added gravel beaches.
0.9.0build 1Added 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.
0.10.0build 1Abandoned mineshafts generate above ground in mesa biomes.
0.11.0build 1Added desert wells.
0.12.1build 1Added the Nether along with lava oceans, glowstone clusters, Nether Fortresses, soul sand beaches, hidden lava, gravel beaches, and Nether quartz veins.
0.13.0build 1Added desert temples.
0.14.0build 1Added witch huts.
Cauldrons will now generate with a random potion.
0.15.0build 1Added 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.
0.16.0build 1Added ocean monuments.
Pocket Edition
1.0alpha 0.17.0.1Added 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.
1.1alpha 1.1.0.0Added woodland mansions.
1.1.3alpha 1.1.3.0Added fossils.
Bedrock Edition
1.2beta 1.2.0.2Added ravines.
1.4beta 1.2.14.2Added 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 1.2.20.1Added underwater ruins.
Caves can now generate underwater.
Legacy Console Edition
TU5CU1 1.0 Patch 1Patch 1Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, strongholds and ravines.
Sand and gravel beaches removed due to the changes in the terrain generation algorithm.
TU9Added 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.
TU12Desert wells were added.
TU14 1.04 Added jungle and desert temples.
TU19CU7 1.12 Added witch huts.
Water oases will now no longer generate in deserts.
TU31CU19 1.22 Patch 3Added ocean monuments.
TU43CU33 1.36 Patch 13Added fossils and igloos.
TU54CU44 1.52 Patch 24Patch 4Added woodland mansions.
TU68 1.76 Patch 38Added shipwrecks, underwater ruins, coral reefs, icebergs, underwater caves and ravines, and buried treasure chests.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10Added 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

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