A swamp biome.
Swamps are temperate, murky biomes. There are two variants in the biome family.
Contents
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.
Swamp huts can be rarely found in swamps, 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.
Survival in swamps can be somewhat easy if the player finds a large-enough clearing for a shelter. Wood supply is good without being overwhelming, water is abundant, and terrain is often flat. Swamp huts can also be converted into witch farms, should the player want to easily harvest their drops. However, slimes spawning alongside hostile mobs can make nighttime survival more difficult if the player does not sufficiently light their surroundings.
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[]
There are a total of two different swamp biome variants.
Swamp[]
| Type |
Medium/Mild |
|---|---|
| Rarity |
Common |
| Temperature |
0.8 (default; varies within swamp) |
| Structures |
Swamp Huts |
| Blocks |
Grass Block |
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. 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[note 1] | 100⁄516 | 4 |
| Enderman | 10⁄516 | 1–4 |
| Witch | 5⁄516 | 1 |
| Slime[note 1] | 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[note 1] | 100⁄595 | 1 |
| Enderman | 10⁄595 | 1–2 |
| Witch | 5⁄595 | 1 |
| Slime[note 1] | 100⁄595 | 1 |
| Ambient category | ||
| Bat | 10⁄10 | 2 |
Swamp Hills[]
| Type |
Medium/Mild |
|---|---|
| Rarity |
Rare |
| Temperature |
0.8 (default; varies within swamp) |
| Structures |
Fossils |
| Blocks |
Grass Block |
The swamp hills variant features hillier terrain rising up between the flat marshes. These hills can tower over the otherwise low-elevation swamp. Additionally, flooded areas in swamp hills tend 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 do not generate in swamp hills[Java Edition only], nor do slimes spawn, but fossils may still generate underground. Additionally, seagrass does not generate in flooded areas of swamp hills. If it is connected to a jungle edge it has a chance of creating a modified jungle edge biome
Swamp hills use the same mob spawning chances as swamps.
Data values[]
ID[]
| Name | Namespaced ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| Swamp | swamp | biome.minecraft.swamp |
| Swamp Hills | swamp_hills | biome.minecraft.swamp_hills |
| Name | Namespaced ID | 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. | |||||
| 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. | ||||
| 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. | |||
| 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.
