Badlands Minecraft Biome (What it is and How to Find it) (2024)

This post was last updated on June 1, 2024

The Badlands are a rare and unique biome inspired by rocky canyons and arid stone deserts – much like the stunning rock formations found in the Grand Canyon.

While a Badlands biome can be hard to find, they are one of the best places to find gold and the only place to find terracotta. You’ll feel like you’re in the Minecraftian version of Utah or Alberta.

This guide tells you everything you need to know about the Badlands biome – including how to find them, what variations they have, what their mechanics are, and how to identify them.

What Are Badlands Minecraft Biomes

Badlands (previously called the Mesa biome) is a rare type of biome in Minecraft with a unique terrain generation. These are red/orange/yellow in color, and their geography features deep canyons, eroded spires, and narrow spires called hoodoos.

Badlands are the only biomes where terracotta can be found naturally, and it comes in a range of colors too.

Badlands are an incredibly hot and dry biome, meaning flora like trees, grass, bushes, and plants are won’t grow in most variations. You’re more likely to find a dry old bush than anything with life.

While there is fresh air, you also won’t find any passive mobs in mesa biomes – they need more habitable environments.

There are actually three unique variations of the standard Badlands biome, which we’ll explain in more detail later.

Unique Characteristics and Properties of Badlands

These unique biomes have a range of characteristics that are different from most other biomes in Minecraft.

• The terrain generation creates many unique geographical features, they’ll have large mounds of terracotta, mountain peaks, Badlands tunnels, Badlands plateaus, and unique valleys, canyons, and cliffs.
• There is a much higher chance of Mineshafts being generated, these also spawn higher up than most biomes, meaning you are often able to see their entrance from the surface.
• Passive mobs don’t spawn here. So don’t expect to find any horses, pigs, sheep, or any other friendly animals.
• You’ll never get any rain or thunderstorms in a Badland biome due to how dry they are. Although, you will find rivers running along these biomes which can have rain. Other than along rivers, these biomes are completely dry. The sky will still be dark in inclement weather, but you won’t see any rain.
• Gold ore has a higher spawn rate in Badlands, and also tends to spawn closer to the surface than most biomes. This makes them a great place to hunt for gold if you’re in need. Look for a trench or mineshaft and you should find plenty of gold ore.

Badlands Biome Variations

There are currently three variations of Badlands biomes in Minecraft. Badlands biomes have gone through many variations throughout Minecraft’s developments, and some have been removed.

Standard Badlands

Regular Badlands features a thick layer of red sand on the top surface, mixed with huge piles of terracotta. The terracotta can come in any color in default badlands. You’ll also find plenty of dead bushes, and cacti. Featuring mounds of white terracotta, and coarse dirt, some Badlands seeds also generate tall, pointy mountainous structures and pueblos.

You’ll also find flat-topped hills on the uppermost layers of these biomes, often with light gray terracotta and red sand.

These are updated versions of the previous “Badlands Plateau” biome, which was replaced in Minecraft 1.18.

Wooded Badlands

These Badlands usually come at a higher elevation and will have large patches of trees at the peaks. The top layers are covered with grass and coarse dirt, and these are the only type of Badland where you’ll find trees.

These will have dark oak trees growing around them, and both the grass will be a dull brown color, and the oak leaves will be a dull greenish-brown color.

These can be a rare source of wood which can be a lifesaver if you’re stuck in one of these biomes. At their peak, you’ll find a Wooded Badlands Plateau, which has plenty of oak trees.

This is a slightly more humid variation of the standard badland, meaning they generally spawn near jungles, and swamps, or have lush caves underground.

These still have the same characteristics as standard biomes, such as having large quantities of gold, and no passive mobs.

Eroded Badlands biome

These are one of our favorite variations just because of how cool they look.

These are defined by their towering hoodoos (a spire remaining from an eroded cliff). These resemble many canyons found in drier parts of the world where water has eroded cliffs to make unique-looking terrain.

These have the exact same mechanics as the other Badlands biomes. You won’t find any passive mobs, vegetation, or rain.

Removed Badlands

As of version 1.18, several types of Badlands biomes have been removed from the game:

• Modified Badlands Plateau
• Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau

How to Find a Badlands Biome in Minecraft

Badlands (commonly referred to as mesa biomes) are pretty rare biomes, so without using commands or cheats they can be pretty difficult to find.

This section explains some tips for finding Badlands organically, and also shows you how you can cheat your way there with commands.

Finding Badlands Organically

If you want to find them “organically” – that is, without using commands, cheats, or spawning a new seed, then you’re going to have to do some exploring.

There isn’t any real strategy for finding one other than sheer luck. The more time you spend exploring your Minecraft world, the more likely you are to eventually run into one.

With that said, here are some general pointers that can help you in your search for a Badland Biome.

1. They are often found close to savanna, warm ocean, and desert biomes.
2. Get a horse to make traveling quicker.
3. They are easily identifiable thanks to their orange and brown canyons and mesas.

That said, due to the random nature of Minecraft’s world generation, you aren’t ever really guaranteed to find one. Your world will have some Badlands biomes in, but they could be millions of blocks away from you.

Using a Seed Mapper

This isn’t technically cheating, but you could put your seed into a seed mapper website, to generate a map of your seed. This lets you quickly look around your world to discover the closest Badland biome.

Chunkbase is one of the best seed map generators around.

Using Commands to Find a Badlands Biome

If you have commands enabled in your Minecraft world (be it a single-player, or an online server), you can use commands to find the coordinates of nearby Badlands biomes, then use the teleport command to instantly move there.

Follow these steps to find biomes using commands.

1. Type “/locate biome minecraft:badlands” into the text chat
   Or “/locate biome minecraft:eroded_badlands“
   Or “/locate biome minecraft:wooded_badlands“
2. You will be given X, Y, and Z coordinates, e.g 100, 20, 300
3. Type “/TP X Y Z” where XYZ are the given coordinates, eg “/tp 100 20 300”
4. Hit enter, and you’ll be teleported to the Badlands biome

You can also use this method to find other variations of the badlands biomes.

Badlands Seeds

Using these seeds will spawn you in a new Minecraft world directly in a badland

• 66548779546641 = A Desert Village in a Badlands Biome.
• -9135439529496606179 = A combined jungle and Badlands biome.
• -2606690663582892128 = A Badlands with a lush cave
• -78688046 = A beautiful Badlands cliff looking over a coral reef

How to use these Seeds

To spawn a new world based on these chosen seeds, simply follow these steps

1. Start a new world
2. Enter the selected seed in the seed box
3. Choose your other settings and generate your new world!

You should spawn in, or close to a Badland biome.

Surviving in Badlands Biomes

If you want to live in a Badlands biome, these tips will help you survive. These are one of the least forgiving environments in Minecraft, and many resources are limited.

• To find wood, head to a wooded badlands plateau. These are probably the only source of wood you’ll find in Badlands in Minecraft.
• Food can be hard to come by because there are no edible animals. Make sure you bring some wheat seeds so you can start a farm.

Conclusion: Good Luck Finding the Badlands!

Badlands are one of the coolest biomes in Minecraft, although they can be pretty hard to find. If you follow the instructions we explained above, then you should be able to find one relatively easily.

FAQs

What are the Variants of Minecraft Badlands?

In the current version of Minecraft, the main variants of Minecraft Badlands are Wooded Badlands and Eroded Badlands.

What makes Badlands Special and Different from Others?

Badlands are special compared to other biomes because they are the only place you can find terracotta. They are also one of the only places where no passive mobs spawn.

What is the Easiest way to find a Badlands Biome?

The easiest way to find a Badlands Biome depends on if you have access to commands or not. If you can use cheats, use the “/locate biome minecraft:badlands” command. If not, you just have to explore the environment and cross your fingers – they’re pretty rare.