Minecraft Biomes: All 64 Java Edition Biomes
Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.11 has 64 biomes: 54 in the Overworld, 5 in the Nether and 5 in the End. This Minecraft biomes list groups them the way Mojang does and gives each biome's climate, the first version it generated in and what you will find there. Most rows link to a biome page, and the seed map shows where biomes sit on your own seed. Last updated November 2026 by the team behind Minecraft Seed Map, an open-source project.
Biome reference
Java Edition 1.21.11 has 64 biomes: 54 in the Overworld, five in the Nether and five in the End. The Void exists in custom superflat worlds. The table groups biomes by the Minecraft Help Center categories.
| Group | Biomes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Offshore | 10 | Ocean, Warm Ocean, Mushroom Fields |
| Highland | 10 | Meadow, Cherry Grove, Jagged Peaks |
| Woodland | 13 | Forest, Dark Forest, Pale Garden |
| Wetland | 7 | River, Swamp, Mangrove Swamp |
| Flatland | 4 | Plains, Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes |
| Arid-land | 7 | Desert, Savanna, Badlands |
| Cave | 3 | Lush Caves, Dripstone Caves, Deep Dark |
| Nether | 5 | Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, Basalt Deltas |
| End | 5 | The End, End Highlands, Small End Islands |
| Total | 64 |
The total depends on the version: Java 26.2 added Sulfur Caves and Java 26.3 added Dappled Forest; the map does not yet support 26.x. “In Java since” counts earlier names and starts at 1.13.
Offshore biomes
The ocean biomes and Mushroom Fields. Deep ocean variants can contain ocean monuments.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean | Temperate | 1.13 | Kelp, seagrass, cod and shipwrecks |
| Deep Ocean | Temperate | 1.13 | Deeper water and ocean monuments |
| Warm Ocean | Hot | 1.13 | Coral reefs, sea pickles and tropical fish |
| Lukewarm Ocean | Temperate | 1.13 | Kelp, tropical fish and sandstone ocean ruins |
| Deep Lukewarm Ocean | Temperate | 1.13 | Deeper warm water and ocean monuments |
| Cold Ocean | Cold | 1.13 | Kelp, salmon and stone-brick ocean ruins |
| Deep Cold Ocean | Cold | 1.13 | Deep cold water and ocean monuments |
| Frozen Ocean | Frozen | 1.13 | Sea ice, icebergs and polar bears |
| Deep Frozen Ocean | Frozen | 1.13 | Icebergs over deep water and ocean monuments |
| Mushroom Fields | Temperate | 1.13 | Mycelium, giant mushrooms and mooshrooms; no natural hostile mob spawns |
Highland biomes
The mountains rebuilt in 1.18. Goats live on peaks, and emerald ore generates in mountain biomes.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadow | Temperate | 1.18 | Grass, flowers, bee nests and villages |
| Cherry Grove | Temperate | 1.20 | Cherry trees and pink petals |
| Grove | Cold | 1.18 | Snowy spruce forest, foxes and wolves |
| Snowy Slopes | Frozen | 1.18 | Snow, powder snow, goats and igloos |
| Jagged Peaks | Frozen | 1.18 | Sharp snowy summits |
| Frozen Peaks | Frozen | 1.18 | Smooth peaks of packed ice and snow |
| Stony Peaks | Temperate | 1.18 | Bare stone peaks with calcite bands |
| Windswept Hills | Temperate | 1.13 | Steep grassy stone hills and llamas |
| Windswept Gravelly Hills | Temperate | 1.13 | Windswept hills with a gravel surface |
| Windswept Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Windswept hills covered in oak and spruce |
Woodland biomes
Woodlands supply oak, birch, spruce, jungle, dark oak and pale oak.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Oak and birch trees and wolves |
| Flower Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Flowers, bees and rabbits |
| Birch Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Birch trees |
| Old Growth Birch Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Extra-tall birch trees |
| Dark Forest | Temperate | 1.13 | Dark oak canopy, huge mushrooms and woodland mansions |
| Pale Garden | Temperate | 1.21.4 | Pale oak trees, pale moss, eyeblossoms and creakings |
| Taiga | Cold | 1.13 | Spruce trees, sweet berry bushes, wolves and villages |
| Old Growth Pine Taiga | Cold | 1.13 | Giant spruce trees, podzol and mossy boulders |
| Old Growth Spruce Taiga | Cold | 1.13 | Giant spruce trees and podzol |
| Snowy Taiga | Frozen | 1.13 | Snow-covered spruce, foxes, igloos and villages |
| Jungle | Hot | 1.13 | Tall jungle trees, cocoa, parrots, ocelots and jungle temples |
| Sparse Jungle | Hot | 1.13 | Fewer, shorter jungle trees |
| Bamboo Jungle | Hot | 1.14 | Dense bamboo, pandas and parrots |
Wetland biomes
Rivers, swamps and shores where land meets water.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| River | Temperate | 1.13 | Water channels with squid and salmon |
| Frozen River | Frozen | 1.13 | Ice-covered rivers |
| Swamp | Temperate | 1.13 | Lily pads, vines, slimes and witch huts |
| Mangrove Swamp | Temperate | 1.19 | Mangrove trees, mud and frogs |
| Beach | Temperate | 1.13 | Sand shores, turtles and buried treasure |
| Snowy Beach | Frozen | 1.13 | Snow-covered sand shores |
| Stony Shore | Temperate | 1.13 | Stone cliffs where land meets the sea |
Flatland biomes
Flatlands are convenient places to build; plains and snowy plains can hold villages.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | Temperate | 1.13 | Grass, horses, villages and pillager outposts |
| Sunflower Plains | Temperate | 1.13 | Plains covered in sunflowers |
| Snowy Plains | Frozen | 1.13 | Snow, polar bears, igloos and villages |
| Ice Spikes | Frozen | 1.13 | Tall spikes of packed ice |
Arid-land biomes
Arid biomes receive no rain. Badlands are known for gold and terracotta.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert | Hot | 1.13 | Sand, cacti, desert pyramids, wells and villages |
| Savanna | Hot | 1.13 | Acacia trees, horses and villages |
| Savanna Plateau | Hot | 1.13 | Raised savanna land with acacia trees |
| Windswept Savanna | Hot | 1.13 | Jagged, broken savanna terrain |
| Badlands | Hot | 1.13 | Red sand, terracotta bands and surface mineshafts |
| Wooded Badlands | Hot | 1.13 | Badlands plateaus with oak trees and coarse dirt |
| Eroded Badlands | Hot | 1.13 | Tall terracotta spires |
Cave biomes
Cave biomes generate underground and can sit beneath surface biomes.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lush Caves | Temperate | 1.18 | Moss, azaleas, glow berries and axolotls |
| Dripstone Caves | Temperate | 1.18 | Pointed dripstone and large copper deposits |
| Deep Dark | Temperate | 1.19 | Sculk, wardens and ancient cities |
Nether biomes
Minecraft has five Nether biomes; four arrived in the 1.16 Nether Update.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nether Wastes | Hot | 1.13 | Netherrack, lava seas, ghasts and zombified piglins |
| Soul Sand Valley | Hot | 1.16 | Soul sand, soul fire, fossils, skeletons and ghasts |
| Crimson Forest | Hot | 1.16 | Crimson fungi, hoglins and piglins |
| Warped Forest | Hot | 1.16 | Warped fungi and many endermen |
| Basalt Deltas | Hot | 1.16 | Basalt, blackstone and magma cubes |
End biomes
The central island is one biome; the outer islands split into four by terrain height.
| Biome | Climate | In Java since | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| The End | Temperate | 1.13 | The central island, ender dragon and exit portal |
| End Highlands | Temperate | 1.13 | Tall centers of outer islands where End cities generate |
| End Midlands | Temperate | 1.13 | Slopes of the outer islands |
| End Barrens | Temperate | 1.13 | Thin edges of the outer islands |
| Small End Islands | Temperate | 1.13 | Small floating islands in the void |
How Minecraft decides where biomes go
Since 1.18, the game picks each Overworld biome from six climate values it calculates for every location: temperature, humidity, continentalness, erosion, weirdness and depth. According to the Minecraft Wiki, all six come from noise built from the world seed, so the same seed always gives the same biome layout in the same version. Depth is the only one of the six that changes with height. That is how a cave biome can sit under a different surface biome. The Nether has used a similar climate system since 1.16. End biomes follow the island layout instead.
The most common and rarest biomes
Forest is the most common Overworld biome, covering 12.2% of the surface, and Windswept Gravelly Hills is the rarest at 0.098%. Plains follow Forest at 10.2% and Ocean at 7.0%. These figures are surface measurements published by the Minecraft Wiki for the current Java version. The rarest surface biomes in the versions this site maps are:
| Biome | Share of Overworld surface |
|---|---|
| Windswept Gravelly Hills | 0.098% |
| Stony Peaks | 0.106% |
| Mushroom Fields | 0.140% |
| Pale Garden | 0.157% |
| Frozen Peaks and Jagged Peaks | 0.163% each |
| Ice Spikes | 0.227% |
Many players call Mushroom Fields the rarest biome, but Windswept Gravelly Hills covers less of the surface. Rarity on your own world depends on the seed, so the quickest check is to open your seed on the map.
Biomes renamed or removed in 1.18
The 1.18 update rebuilt Overworld generation and renamed the 11 biomes below. If you play an older version, the game and the seed map both use the old names.
| Name before 1.18 | Name from 1.18 |
|---|---|
| Mountains | Windswept Hills |
| Gravelly Mountains | Windswept Gravelly Hills |
| Wooded Mountains | Windswept Forest |
| Shattered Savanna | Windswept Savanna |
| Giant Tree Taiga | Old Growth Pine Taiga |
| Giant Spruce Taiga | Old Growth Spruce Taiga |
| Tall Birch Forest | Old Growth Birch Forest |
| Snowy Tundra | Snowy Plains |
| Jungle Edge | Sparse Jungle |
| Stone Shore | Stony Shore |
| Wooded Badlands Plateau | Wooded Badlands |
The same update removed many hill and edge variants, such as Wooded Hills and Desert Hills, because the new terrain system builds hills inside the main biome.
How to find a biome on your seed
Open your world's seed on the map to see where biomes sit before you travel.
- Open the seed map and enter your seed.
- Choose the version your world was created in. Biome layouts changed completely in 1.18.
- Pan and zoom. Biome colors and labels show where each biome sits, and clicking a spot gives its exact coordinates.
- Use the biome finder to check the biome at a particular position. In game, the F3 debug screen shows the biome you are standing in. In Java 1.19 and later, /locate biome followed by a biome ID finds the nearest one, for example /locate biome minecraft:cherry_grove . In 1.16 to 1.18 the same command was /locatebiome .
Frequently asked questions
How many biomes are in Minecraft?
Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.11 has 64 biomes: 54 in the Overworld, 5 in the Nether and 5 in the End. The Void is a 65th biome, but it appears only in custom superflat worlds. Java 26.2 and 26.3 add Sulfur Caves and the Dappled Forest, which raises the total.
What is the rarest biome in Minecraft?
By the Minecraft Wiki's surface measurements, Windswept Gravelly Hills is the rarest biome, covering about 0.098% of the Overworld, followed by Stony Peaks and Mushroom Fields. Many players name Mushroom Fields instead because it sits far out in the ocean. How rare any biome is on your own world still depends on your seed.
What is the newest biome in Minecraft?
The Pale Garden is the newest biome in the versions this site maps. It became a normal part of world generation in Java 1.21.4. Java 26.2 later added Sulfur Caves and Java 26.3 added the Dappled Forest, and this list will add both when the seed map supports 26.x.
Are Bedrock Edition biomes the same as Java?
Bedrock and Java biomes are mostly the same. Both editions share nearly all Overworld, Nether and End biomes, and since 1.18 the same seed gives a very similar biome layout in both. The Void is Java-only, some climate values differ and structures are placed differently. This site maps Java Edition only.
How do I tell which biome I'm standing in?
In Java Edition, press F3 to open the debug screen and find the biome line, such as minecraft:plains. To check a spot before you go there, click it on the seed map to get its coordinates, then compare the biome label at that position with what you see in game.
Why does my world have biomes that are not on this list?
Your world was probably created before 1.18. Older versions used different biome names and had extra hill and edge biomes that 1.18 removed. Choose your world's original version on the seed map to see the biomes it actually generated, and check the renamed biomes table above for the old names.
Explore biomes on your seed
To find Minecraft biomes on your own world, open your seed on the Minecraft seed map and look around spawn, or use the biome finder to check a position. For structures inside these biomes, see the structure list.