Swamp

A swamp biome.

A swamp is a temperate, murky biome. There are two variants of swamp.

Description

Swamps are mostly flat biomes, with elevations low enough to go below sea level throughout much of the area. Large portions of swamps are flooded, from marsh-like patches of single blocks of grass forming in shallow water, to large lakes, with patches of clay on the lakebed. Water in swamps takes on a gray-green color at the surface, turning pale yellow when submerged in it. Unlike most biomes, swamps have varying temperatures, which affects the color of grass blocks, grass and leaves.

Vegetation includes oak trees, that can grow in shallow water and generate with vines growing on them. Sugar cane is found often growing on shores, while seagrass litters the bottom of flooded areas. Blue orchids may grow among the grass, while lily pads dot the surfaces of lakes; both are found exclusively in swamps. In Bedrock Edition, huge mushrooms can generate as well.

Rarely, a swamp may include a swamp hut, housing a witch and a black cat. Only witches can spawn in and around the hut. Swamps, alongside deserts, can generate fossils, rare structures found underground around Y=50.

Slimes can spawn in swamps at low light levels, alongside common monsters, between elevations of Y=50 and Y=70 (exclusive). Their spawn rate is affected by the moon phase, spawning most often during full moon and not spawning at all during new moon.

Villagers that spawn in swamps get a unique swamp-themed look. While villagers have swamp-specific types, no village featuring exclusively these villagers can be generated. The only way for these villagers to spawn is either by being bred in swamp or curing a zombie villager that spawned in a swamp.

Swamp biomes are usually found next to other lush biomes, such as forests, dark forests, birch forests, and plains biomes. Like aquatic biomes, swamp biomes undergo little to no change when generated in the Amplified world type.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

Variants

Swamp

Swamp

Type	Lush/Temperate
Rarity	Common
Temperature	0.8 (default; varies within swamp)
Structures	Swamp Huts Fossils Huge Mushrooms‌[BE only]
Blocks	Grass Block Water Lily Pad Seagrass Clay Vines Oak Log Oak Leaves Blue Orchid Mushrooms Dead Bush
Grass color	#6A7039  #4C763C (temperature < 0.1)
Foliage color	#6A7039
Water color	#617B64‌[JE only]  #4C6559‌[BE only]
Underwater fog color	#232317‌[JE only]  #4C6559‌[BE only]

The swamp biome is the standard swamp variant. Non-flooded areas of this biome feature relatively flat terrain, similarly to plains biomes, though with significantly more trees and less tall grass. In Java Edition, some parts of the swamp may have marsh-like terrain, where the grass has multiple single blocks of water generating within it. At nighttime, depending on the moon phase, slimes may spawn at Y-levels 50-70 alongside other hostile mobs, making swamps the only places aboveground where slimes can be found. Swamp huts and fossils also generate in this biome.

In Java Edition:

Mob	Spawn chance	Group size
Passive category
Sheep	12⁄40	4
Pig	10⁄40	4
Chicken	10⁄40	4
Cow	8⁄40	4
Hostile category
Spider	100⁄516	4
Zombie	95⁄516	4
Zombie Villager	5⁄516	1
Skeleton	100⁄516	4
Creeper	100⁄516	4
Slime	100⁄516	4
Enderman	10⁄516	1–4
Witch	5⁄516	1
Slime	1⁄516	1
Ambient category
Bat	10⁄10	8

In Bedrock Edition:

Mob	Spawn chance	Group size
Passive category
Sheep	12⁄40	2–3
Pig	10⁄40	1–3
Chicken	10⁄40	2–4
Cow	8⁄40	2–3
Hostile category
Spider	100⁄595	1
Zombie	95⁄595	2–4
Zombie Villager	5⁄595	2–4
Skeleton	80⁄595	1–2
Creeper	100⁄595	1
Slime	100⁄595	1
Enderman	10⁄595	1–2
Witch	5⁄595	1
Slime	100⁄595	1
Ambient category
Bat	10⁄10	2

Removed variants

Swamp hills

Swamp Hills

Type	Medium/Mild
Rarity	Rare
Temperature	0.8 (default; varies within swamp)
Structures	Fossils Swamp Huts‌[BE only] Huge Mushrooms‌[BE only]
Blocks	Grass Block Water Lily Pad Clay Vines Oak Log Oak Leaves Blue Orchid Mushrooms
Grass color	#6A7039  #4C763C (temperature < 0.1)
Foliage color	#6A7039
Water color	#617B64‌[JE only]  #4C6156‌[BE only]
Underwater fog color	#232317‌[JE only]  #4C6156‌[BE only]

The swamp hills variant featured hillier terrain rising up between the flat marshes. These hills would tower over the otherwise low-elevation swamp. Additionally, flooded areas in swamp hills tended to reach lower depths than the rest of the swamp, sometimes deep enough to have a gravel floor in place of a dirt floor, like normal oceans. Swamp huts did not generate in swamp hills‌^{[Java Edition only]}, nor did slimes spawn, but fossils did still generate underground. Additionally, seagrass did not generate in flooded areas of swamp hills. If it connected to a sparse jungle it had a chance to create a modified jungle edge biome.

Swamp hills used the same mob spawning chances as swamps.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Resource location	Translation key
Swamp	swamp	biome.minecraft.swamp
Swamp Hills	swamp_hills	biome.minecraft.swamp_hills

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Resource location	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	swampland	6
[No displayed name]	swampland_mutated	134

History

Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0		preview			Added proper biomes, including swamps. However, the biome itself was completely different from their modern counterparts.
					Forests are defined by having a rainfall value of 40% or greater and a temperature value between 50% and 70%.
Java Edition Beta
1.8		September 3, 2011			Notch teased a screenshot of the new swamp biome, with oak trees with vines.
		Pre-release			Swamp biome generation has been overhauled. Swamp oak trees, vines, marsh-like areas, and dead bushes now generate. Foliage and grass is now a lush green color.
					Snow no longer generates in swamps.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			Grass, leaves, and water blocks are now tinted a dark, grayish green on swamps. however, this change resulted in biome color and biome transitions becoming essentially nonexistent.
					Lily Pads now generate in swamps.
1.1		12w01a			Color transitions in swamp biomes have been fixed and have been smoothed
1.4.2		12w40a			Added witch huts, which may generate in swamps.
					Slimes now spawn in swamp biomes.
1.7.2		13w36a			Swampland M variant added, along with many other biomes. Its grass color now varies.
		13w38b			Marsh-like areas and dead bushes no longer generate in swamp biomes.
1.8		14w26a			Marsh-like areas and dead bushes generate again in swamp biomes.
1.10		16w20a			Added fossils, which can generate in swamps.
1.13		18w14a			Seagrass now generates in swamps.
		18w15a			Changed the tint of water in the swamp biomes from blue to gray to match Bedrock Edition. However, mutated swamps still use the same tint, resulting in chlorine-colored water.
		18w16a			"Swampland M" has been renamed to "Mutated Swampland".
		18w19a			"Swampland" has been renamed to "Swamp".
					"Mutated Swampland" has been renamed to "Swamp Hills".
		pre3			Swamp hills now use the correct water color.
		pre5			The ID swampland has been changed to swamp.
					The ID mutated_swampland has been changed to swamp_hills.
September 28, 2019					During MINECON Live 2019, the swamp came in second place in the Biome Vote; mangrove trees, boats with chests, and frogs will be added.
1.14		18w43a			Drowneds no longer spawn in swamps.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.18		Experimental Snapshot 1			Swamp hills no longer generate naturally.
					Swamp biomes currently do not generate correctly.
		experimental snapshot 2			Swamp biome generation has been fixed.
		experimental snapshot 3			Swamps are less likely to overlap cold or dry biomes.
					Hanging water is no longer placed in swamps.
		experimental snapshot 4			Swamps are less likely to extend far out from the coastline.
		experimental snapshot 5			Swamps have been moved slightly more inland.
					Swamp oak trees are now able to generate in slightly deeper water than before.
		experimental snapshot 6			Swamps are now able to generate in dry areas, making them less fragmented overall.
		21w40a			The swamp hills biome has been removed.
October 16, 2021					The Wild Update was announced at Minecraft Live 2021, showing in-game clips of previously-announced Biome Vote content, along with new features such as mud, fireflies, and tadpoles.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0		build 1			Added swamps and swamp hills, along with many other biomes.
v0.10.0		build 1			The water in swamps is now tinted dark gray.
					Huge mushrooms now generate in swamps.
v0.14.0		build 1			Added witch huts, which generate in swamps.
Pocket Edition
1.1.3		alpha 1.1.3.0			Added fossils, which can be found in swamps.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0		beta 1.2.13.8			Added drowned, which can spawn in swamps.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Drowned no longer spawn during the day in swamps.
?					Marsh-like areas no longer generate in swamps.
Legacy Console Edition
TU5	CU1	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added swamps.
TU9					Color transitions within swamps have been smoothed.
TU19	CU7	1.12			Added witch huts, which generate only in swamps.
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Added Swampland M variant.
					Generation of marsh-like areas in swamp biomes has been changed.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Added fossils, which can generate in swamps.

• 

  The first image of a Swamp.

• 

  Old view of a Swamp biome.

Gallery

Note that images with blue water were taken before Java Edition 1.13, which changed the color of water in swamps from blue to gray.

• 

  A swamp in Bedrock Edition, showing huge mushrooms.

• 

  Another swamp in Bedrock Edition.

• 

  A slime and a swamp hut in a swamp.

• 

  Another view of a swamp, with Swamp Hills in the background.

• 

  View of marsh-like terrain characteristic of swamps.

• 

  An example of the temperature variation in swamps, leading to different shades of green for the grass blocks.

• 

  Same as the previous image, edited for better visibility.

• 

  A river running through a swamp.

• 

  A swamp generated next to a frozen ocean.

• 

  An oddity at the intersection of a desert biome and a swamp biome.

• 

  Another view of a swamp.

• 

  Different water colors in swamp biome.

See also

• River
• Plains
• Mountains
• Ocean
• Frozen Ocean
• Deep Ocean

References

Biomes

View at: Template:Biomes/content [edit]