Stephanie Scott
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The Geology of Minecraft
Minecraft is a fantastic sandbox video game centered around building and exploration in a blocky 3D world. The game is immensely popular among people of all ages and has become the best-selling game of all time since its full release in 2011.
A large part of the beauty and appeal of Minecraft stems from the stunning, randomly generated terrain that extends far beyond the eye can see. There are lots of different biomes for players to explore, such as deserts, snowy tundra, taiga mountains, and jungles, to name a few. Each biome boasts unique features and landforms, leaving so much for players to appreciate and discover. In this article, we’re going to take a look at some ofthe geological features and rocks found in the various Minecraft biomes, starting with the badlands.
The red landscapes of Minecraft badlands
Badlands are characterized by a lack of vegetation and large terracotta mounds with stained layers. The naturally spawning terracotta blocks in these biomes can be mined with a pickaxe and range in color from reddish tones to yellow and white. Red sand cloaks the environment, too, giving the area a characteristic red/orange color.
There are some special variations on the normal biome, including eroded badlands where large spires protrude from the ground with the same kinds of layering patterns as seen in the standard terracotta mounds.
Badlands are also hotspots for mineshafts, which spawn at a higher altitude than average. If you dig a borehole down in a badlands biome, you’re likely to hit a mineshaft quite quickly. Sometimes you can even find them above ground!
Deserts and beaches
Deserts and beaches are environments consisting mainly of sand, with layers of sandstone compressed underneath. Regular sandstone spawns naturally and can be modified through smelting, crafting, or stonecutting into one of 3 other variants of the stone.
In sandy biomes, you have to be careful when exploring because sand blocks are some of the few blocks in Minecraft affected by gravity. If you’re digging a borehole looking for resources or fossil bones (which can be found buried in desert biomes), be wary of sand falling and potentially trapping you.
Ores and stone types
Regular stone blocks make up the majority of blocks generated in Minecraft worlds but you'll occasionally also find ores in mineral veins. These ores include coal, iron, gold, redstone, and diamond ore – diamond being the rarest of the 5.
Aside from regular stone, there are a few rarer variants. Granite, diorite, and andesite can be found around the overworld, much like ores. You’ll most commonly come across them when mining or digging boreholes. Be sure to collect them with a pickaxe, as you can polish them and use them as building materials. It’s almost like you are doing borehole logging in the game (see https://mountsopris.com/borehole-well-logging-equipment/).
Minecraft 1.16 and beyond…
Minecraft is always adding more blocks with every new update, so lots of new and exciting rock types with unique uses will likely be added to the game. Most recently, basalt and blackstone were released as part of the 1.16 nether update.
The next update to grace Minecraft will be coming out this summer and is called Caves and Cliffs. It’s going to bring with it a whole host of new geological features and rocks, including amethyst, calcite, and tuff! If you’re a big fan of geology, you should definitely check out Minecraft as it’s sure to be a lot of fun for you.
by Stephanie Scott on 2021-01-16 05:24:02
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