Erosion

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Erosion

Overworld erosion

Nether erosion

End erosion

Biomes	Overworld The Nether The End
Generates in existing chunks	No
Consists of	Air With one of: Stone Netherrack End stone

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Erosions, also known as basins, are rare terrain features that strip away the top layer of a biomes surface, leaving a one-block deep hole with a stony floor. They can generate in all three dimensions, and are intentional.^[1][2][3]

Description

Overworld

In the Overworld, the floors of erosions are always replaced with stone. They expose ores such as coal ore, copper ore and iron ore. In badlands erosions, gold ore can also be seen.

The Nether

Erosions in The Nether replace the floor with netherrack. Nether erosions can expose ore such as nether gold ore and nether quartz ore. Because erosions generate indepedent of the y-axis, if an erosion generates in an overhang in the Nether, an identical erosion is guaranteed to generate at the exact same x and z coordinates on the ground below such an overhang.

The End

Since erosions generate before features, chorus plants can take root in End erosions. The floor of End erosions is always end stone.

Generation

When the game generates new chunks, the surface depth is calculated for every column inside the chunk based on the minecraft:surface noise. This value is an integer, and when it is less than or equal to 0, the top block from the surface is replaced with air. Note that because surface depth is calculated per-column, every surface in the column is removed; that is, an identical erosion appears above or below another one if there is an overhang. The surface depth rarely reaches these values, eliciting the rarity of erosions. After the hole is generated, the floor is replaced with a stone block of the respective dimension, and the hole is flooded with water if it is at or below sea level.^[4]

Erosion generation occurs before carver creation in the terrain generation process, meaning that caves, features, and structures can disrupt or even completely conceal them. As a consequence, ore blobs are commonly found in erosions, making ore more accessible to players on the surface.

Accidental removal

Currently, erosions have stopped generating in all biomes except frozen oceans and deep frozen oceans since the addition of surface rules, which is unintentional behavior.‌^[5]

History

This section is a work in progress.

 

Please help expand and improve it. The talk page may contain suggestions.
Note: Find versions where initially added or changes were made

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  A naturally generated erosion.
• 
  A desert erosion.
• 
  A taiga erosion.
• 
  A snow-covered tundra erosion.
• 
  An erosion in a crimson forest, exposing nether quartz ore blob.
• 
  An erosion in a nether wastes.
• 
  An erosion generated on an outer End island.

Trivia

• The End has few surface features, and no carvers, making End erosions easy to spot.
• This is the only terrain feature that generates in all three dimensions.

Issues

Issues relating to "Erosion" or "Basin" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

References

Navigation

v t e World features
Terrain features Overworld Terrain Floating island Hill Mountain Noise cave Surface Hoodoo Strip Surface layer Water bodies Aquifer Ocean River Others Ore vein The Nether Erosion Lava sea The End Central island Erosion Outer islands Removed Beach (world feature) Gravel Far Lands Java Edition only Monolith
Structures Overworld Ruined Portal Surface Desert Pyramid Igloo Jungle Pyramid Pillager Outpost Swamp Hut Woodland Mansion Village Farm Underwater Ocean Monument Ocean Ruins Shipwreck Underground Ancient City Buried Treasure Mineshaft Stronghold Trail Ruins Trial Chambers The Nether Bastion Remnant Nether Fortress Nether Fossil Ruined Portal The End End City Utility Java Edition only Jigsaw Joke 9x9.nbt Bonus barrel Bridge Colosseum command.com.nbt content.nbt desire.nbt house_of_bob.nbt library.nbt llama.nbt Lunar Base Potato Mineshaft Potato Village Ruined Portatol Shapes Removed Village (old) Java Edition only Brick Pyramid Glass Pillars Obsidian Wall Starting House
Features Overworld Lava lake Spring Surface Bonus Chest Desert Well Disk Iceberg Blue Ice Ice Patch Ice spike Freeze top layer Forest rock Pile Underground Amethyst geode Pointed Dripstone Dripstone cluster Large dripstone Monster room Fossil Ore Underwater magma Vegetation Patched vegetations Bamboo Coral reef Kelp Sea Pickle Seagrass Glow Lichen Sculk Vein Sculk patch Huge mushroom Root system Tree Oak Spruce Birch Jungle Jungle Bush Acacia Dark oak Azalea tree Mangrove Cherry Pale oak Fallen tree Vines Cave Vines Vegetation patch Pale moss patch Java Edition Superflat only Void start platform​ Fill layer The Nether Basalt columns Basalt pillar Blob Delta Glowstone blob Lava spring Fire patch Vegetation Nether forest vegetation Twisting Vines Weeping Vines Huge fungus The End Chorus plant End gateway End platform End spike Exit portal Small island Removed Clay blob Water lake Utility Java Edition only no_op Random boolean selector Random selector Replace single block Simple block Simple random selector Joke Hash Well Potato Geode Potato Tree
Carvers Overworld Canyon Carver cave The Nether Carver cave Removed Underwater cave Underwater ravine