Desert Hills

From Minecraft Wiki

This article describes content that has been officially made unobtainable in Bedrock Edition.

It can still be obtained using third-party software. However, this can cause unexpected behavior such as bugs and crashes.

👁 BlockSprite rose.png: Sprite image for rose in Minecraft

This page describes content that has been removed from Java Edition.

This feature was present in earlier versions of Java Edition, but has since been removed.

Desert Hills

👁 Desert Hills.png: Infobox image for Minecraft biome 'Desert Hills'

👁 Desert Hills Vibrant Visuals.png: Infobox image for Minecraft biome 'Desert Hills'

Climate
Structures	👁 Image Desert Pyramid‌^{[BE only]}
Features	👁 Image Fossil 👁 Image Desert Well
Blocks	👁 Image Sand 👁 Image Sandstone 👁 Image Cactus 👁 Image Cactus Flower 👁 Image Short Dry Grass 👁 Image Tall Dry Grass 👁 Image Dead Bush 👁 Image Sugar Cane
Temperature	2.0
Downfall	0.0
Precipitation	No
Colors
Grass color	#BFB755
Foliage color	#AEA42A
Dry foliage color	#A38046
Water color	#3F76E4‌^{[JE only]} #1A7AA1‌^{[BE only]}
Vibrant Visuals
Atmospherics	Desert
Lighting	Desert
Volumetric fog	Default
Color grading	Desert

{
 "title": "Desert Hills",
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 "label": "(link to Structure article, displayed as Structures)"
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 {
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 "label": "(link to Feature article, displayed as Features)"
 },
 {
 "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
 "label": "Blocks"
 },
 {
 "field": "",
 "label": "Climate"
 },
 {
 "field": "2.0",
 "label": "(link to Biome#Temperature article, displayed as Temperature)"
 },
 {
 "field": "0.0",
 "label": "(link to Biome#Downfall article, displayed as Downfall)"
 },
 {
 "field": "No",
 "label": "(link to Biome#Precipitation article, displayed as Precipitation)"
 },
 {
 "field": "",
 "label": "Colors"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #BFB755; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #BFB755</span>",
 "label": "Grass color"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #AEA42A; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #AEA42A</span>",
 "label": "Foliage color"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #A38046; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #A38046</span>",
 "label": "Dry foliage color"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #3F76E4; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #3F76E4</span>‌<sup class=\" nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Java Edition\">(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE) only</span></i>]</sup><br><span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: #1A7AA1; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> #1A7AA1</span>‌<sup class=\" nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Bedrock Edition\">(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE) only</span></i>]</sup>",
 "label": "Water color"
 },
 {
 "field": "",
 "label": "Vibrant Visuals"
 },
 {
 "field": "(link to Vibrant Visuals/Configurations#Desert atmospherics article, displayed as Desert)",
 "label": "(link to Vibrant Visuals#Atmospherics article, displayed as Atmospherics)"
 },
 {
 "field": "(link to Vibrant Visuals/Configurations#Desert lighting article, displayed as Desert)",
 "label": "(link to Vibrant Visuals#Atmospherics article, displayed as Lighting)"
 },
 {
 "field": "(link to Fog#Vanilla volumetric fog settings article, displayed as Default)",
 "label": "(link to Fog#Volumetric fog article, displayed as Volumetric fog)"
 },
 {
 "field": "(link to Vibrant Visuals/Configurations#Desert color grading article, displayed as Desert)",
 "label": "(link to Vibrant Visuals#Post processing effects article, displayed as Color grading)"
 }
 ],
 "invimages": [],
 "images": [
 "Desert Hills.png",
 "Desert Hills Vibrant Visuals.png"
 ]
}

The desert hills biome is a variant of the desert that no longer generates since Caves & Cliffs: Part II and was removed in Java Edition.

Description

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Old

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Like all other hills biomes, desert hills featured hillier terrain with occasional overhangs, cliffs, and floating islands. Sand often generated floating here, providing a risk of suffocation when the sand fell down. Desert hills were comprised mostly of sand and sandstone like the rest of the desert, decorated with dead bushes and more sugar cane near water. Unlike the regular desert, desert villages and pillager outposts didn't generate here, but fossils, desert pyramids,‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} and desert wells did. Desert hills didn't generate in the thin desert border around a badlands biome.

Current

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In Bedrock Edition, desert hills in older worlds still received updates. When generated through single biome or behavior packs, they can also generate new blocks.

They appear similar to deserts, with patches of short dry grass and tall dry grass while cactus flowers generate on some cacti, although desert villages still don't generate. Camels uncommonly spawn at daytime, while parched and camel husk jockeys can also spawn at nighttime.

With Vibrant Visuals, desert hills re-use desert atmospherics, the sky is tinted turquoise-green at daytime and much brighter during the night. Moonlight is much more vibrant blue, and the warm color grading temperature tints everything yellow/orange.

Mobs

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Desert hills use the same mob spawning chances as deserts.

The following mobs naturally spawn here:

In **Java Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Creature category
👁 Image Rabbit^{[note 1]}	1	2–3
Monster category
👁 Image Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Skeleton	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Slime^{[note 2]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Husk	⁸⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Zombie	¹⁹⁄₅₁₅	4
👁 Image Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₁₅	1–4
👁 Image Witch	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
👁 Image Zombie Villager	¹⁄₅₁₅	1
Ambient category
👁 Image Bat	1	8

↑ All spawned rabbits are gold.
↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

{ "hasNotes": true, "notes": { "Slime": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "Rabbit": "All spawned rabbits are gold." }, "1": { "totalWeight": 4, "mobs": [ { "note": "All spawned rabbits are gold.", "mob": "Rabbit", "weight": 4, "notename": "Rabbit", "size": "2-3" } ], "category": "passive" }, "2": { "totalWeight": 515, "mobs": [ { "size": "4", "mob": "Spider", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Skeleton", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Creeper", "weight": 100 }, { "note": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "mob": "Slime", "weight": 100, "notename": "Slime", "size": "4" }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Husk", "weight": 80 }, { "size": "4", "mob": "Zombie", "weight": 19 }, { "size": "1-4", "mob": "Enderman", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Witch", "weight": 5 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Zombie Villager", "weight": 1 } ], "category": "hostile" }, "3": { "totalWeight": 10, "mobs": [ { "size": "8", "mob": "Bat", "weight": 10 } ], "category": "ambient" } }

In **Bedrock Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
👁 Image Husk	240	2–4
👁 Image Creeper	100	1
👁 Image Slime^{[note 1]}	100	1
👁 Image Spider	100	1
👁 Image Zombie	95	2–4
👁 Image Skeleton	40	1–2
👁 Image Parched	40	1–2
👁 Image Camel Husk^{[note 2]}	25	1
👁 Image Enderman	10	1–2
👁 Image Witch	5	1
👁 Image Zombie Villager	5	2–4
Creature category
👁 Image Glow Squid	10	2–4
👁 Image Rabbit	4	2–3
👁 Image Camel	1	1

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.
↑ Camel husks will always spawn being ridden by a husk wielding an iron spear with a parched passenger.

{ "hasNotes": true, "notes": { "Slime": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "Camel Husk": "Camel husks will always spawn being ridden by a [[husk]] wielding an [[iron spear]] with a [[parched]] passenger." }, "1": { "totalWeight": 760, "mobs": [ { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Husk", "weight": 240 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Creeper", "weight": 100 }, { "note": "Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.", "mob": "Slime", "weight": 100, "notename": "Slime", "size": "1" }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Spider", "weight": 100 }, { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Zombie", "weight": 95 }, { "size": "1-2", "mob": "Skeleton", "weight": 40 }, { "size": "1-2", "mob": "Parched", "weight": 40 }, { "note": "Camel husks will always spawn being ridden by a [[husk]] wielding an [[iron spear]] with a [[parched]] passenger.", "mob": "Camel Husk", "weight": 25, "notename": "Camel Husk", "size": "1" }, { "size": "1-2", "mob": "Enderman", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Witch", "weight": 5 }, { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Zombie Villager", "weight": 5 } ], "category": "monster" }, "2": { "totalWeight": 15, "mobs": [ { "size": "2-4", "mob": "Glow Squid", "weight": 10 }, { "size": "2-3", "mob": "Rabbit", "weight": 4 }, { "size": "1", "mob": "Camel", "weight": 1 } ], "category": "creature" } }

Sounds

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Music

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Desert hills use the same music as deserts, in the latest version.

Filename in Minecraft	Gameplay	Soundtrack Title	Soundtrack
hal1.ogg	Overworld	"Subwoofer Lullaby"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 3
hal2.ogg	Overworld	"Living Mice"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 5
hal3.ogg	Overworld	"Haggstrom"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 7
hal4.ogg	Overworld	"Danny"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 21
nuance1.ogg	Overworld	"Key"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 1
nuance2.ogg	Overworld	"Oxygène"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 9
one_more_day.ogg	The Overworld, further emphasized in Snowy Slopes, Meadow, Forest, Old Growth Taiga, Lush Caves, Desert, Badlands, Eroded Badlands, and Wooded Badlands	"One More Day"	Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 6
crescent_dunes.ogg	Desert, Badlands, Eroded Badlands, Wooded Badlands	"Crescent Dunes"	Minecraft: Trails & Tales (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 4
fireflies.ogg	Desert, the Overworld and Main menu	"Fireflies"	Minecraft: Chase the Skies (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 5

Data values

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ID

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Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
👁 BiomeSprite desert-hills.png: Sprite image for desert-hills in Minecraft [No displayed name]	`desert_hills`	`17`

History

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Java Edition

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Java Edition
1.1	12w01a	Added DesertHills.
1.2.1	12w04a	Added desert wells to deserts.
1.3.1	12w19a	Hills in deserts are now taller.
1.7.2	13w36a	Desert hills are now required for the new "Adventuring Time" achievement.
1.10	16w20a	Added husks, which replace most zombies in deserts.
1.10	16w20a	Added fossils, which may generate in deserts.
1.13	18w16a	"DesertHills" has been renamed to "Desert Hills".
1.18	Experimental Snapshot 1	Desert hills no longer generate naturally.
1.18	21w40a	Desert hills have been removed.

Bedrock Edition

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Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0	build 1	Added Desert Hills variant, along with many other biomes.
v0.11.0	build 1	Added desert wells to deserts.
v0.13.0	build 1	Added rabbits, which can spawn in deserts.
v0.15.0	build 1	Added husks, which replace most zombies in deserts.
Pocket Edition
1.1.3	alpha 1.1.3.0	Added fossils, which may generate in deserts.
Bedrock Edition
1.18.0	beta 1.18.0.20	The desert hills biome no longer generates naturally.
1.21.60	Preview 1.21.60.23	Dead bushes now generate more frequently.
1.21.70 Experiment Drop 1 2025	Preview 1.21.70.20	Ambient sounds have been added to blocks in desert hills.
	Preview 1.21.70.22	Short dry grass, tall dry grass and cactus flowers now generate in desert hills.
	Preview 1.21.70.23	Camels now spawn in desert hills instead of only desert villages.
1.21.90	Preview 1.21.90.26	Added unique warm atmospherics, lighting, and color grading to desert hills with Vibrant Visuals.

Data history

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Java Edition
1.18			21w37a				Prior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 17.

Issues

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Issues relating to "Desert Hills" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

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👁 A desert hills biome.

A desert hills biome.
👁 Another desert hills biome.

Another desert hills biome.
👁 Desert hills in Bedrock Edition.

Desert hills in Bedrock Edition.
👁 A desert pyramid in desert hills in Bedrock Edition.

A desert pyramid in desert hills in Bedrock Edition.
👁 A frozen ocean next to desert hills in Bedrock Edition. Note the ocean ruins in an iceberg.

A frozen ocean next to desert hills in Bedrock Edition. Note the ocean ruins in an iceberg.
👁 A desert hills single biome world.

A desert hills single biome world.
👁 Desert hills with ray tracing.

Desert hills with ray tracing.

Navigation

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Biomes

👁 Image Overworld
Landforms	👁 Image Beach 👁 Image Snowy 👁 Image Stony Shore 👁 Image River 👁 Image Frozen
Snowy	👁 Image Frozen Peaks 👁 Image Grove 👁 Image Jagged Peaks 👁 Image Snowy Plains 👁 Image Ice Spikes 👁 Image Snowy Slopes 👁 Image Snowy Taiga
Cold	👁 Image Taiga 👁 Image Old Growth Pine 👁 Image Old Growth Spruce 👁 Image Windswept Hills 👁 Image Forest 👁 Image Gravelly 👁 Image Dappled Forest^{[upcoming: Third Drop 2026]}
Temperate	👁 Image Birch Forest 👁 Image Old Growth 👁 Image Cherry Grove 👁 Image Dark Forest 👁 Image Pale Garden 👁 Image Forest 👁 Image Flower 👁 Image Meadow 👁 Image Mushroom Fields 👁 Image Plains 👁 Image Sunflower 👁 Image Swamp
Warm	👁 Image Badlands 👁 Image Eroded 👁 Image Wooded 👁 Image Desert 👁 Image Jungle 👁 Image Bamboo 👁 Image Sparse 👁 Image Mangrove Swamp 👁 Image Savanna 👁 Image Plateau 👁 Image Windswept 👁 Image Stony Peaks
Ocean	👁 Image Frozen Ocean 👁 Image Deep 👁 Image Cold Ocean 👁 Image Deep 👁 Image Ocean 👁 Image Deep 👁 Image Lukewarm Ocean 👁 Image Deep 👁 Image Warm Ocean
Caves	👁 Image Deep Dark 👁 Image Dripstone Caves 👁 Image Lush Caves 👁 Image Sulfur Caves

👁 Image The Nether
👁 Image Basalt Deltas 👁 Image Crimson Forest 👁 Image Nether Wastes 👁 Image Soul Sand Valley 👁 Image Warped Forest

👁 Image
The End

Central	👁 Image The End
Outer	👁 Image End Barrens 👁 Image End Highlands 👁 Image End Midlands 👁 Image Small End Islands

👁 Image
The End

👁 BiomeSprite sky.png: Sprite image for sky in Minecraft
Other

Specialized

JE only	👁 Image The Void

Unused/removed

Hills	👁 Image Birch Forest Hills 👁 Image 👁 Image Jungle Hills 👁 Image Bamboo 👁 Image Snowy Mountains 👁 Image Taiga Hills 👁 Image Giant Tree 👁 Image Snowy 👁 Image Wooded Hills
Modified	👁 Image Dark Forest Hills 👁 Image Desert Lakes 👁 Image Modified Badlands Plateau 👁 Image Wooded 👁 Image Modified Jungle 👁 Image Edge 👁 Image Swamp Hills 👁 Image Taiga Mountains 👁 Image Snowy
Modified hills	👁 Image Giant Spruce Taiga Hills 👁 Image Gravelly Mountains+ 👁 Image Shattered Savanna Plateau 👁 Image Tall Birch Hills
Other	👁 Image Badlands Plateau 👁 Image Deep Warm Ocean 👁 Image Mountain Edge 👁 Image Mushroom Field Shore
BE only	👁 Image Legacy Frozen Ocean

Proto-biomes

Removed	👁 Image Ice Desert 👁 Image Rainforest 👁 Image Seasonal Forest 👁 Image Shrubland 👁 Image Tundra
Unimplemented	👁 Image Sky

Joke

20w14∞	👁 Image `_generated:id` 👁 Image Between 👁 Image Biome For Player With No Time For Nonsense 👁 Image Shapes
24w14potato	👁 Image Arboretum 👁 Image Corruption 👁 Image Fields 👁 Image Hash 👁 Image Wasteland
Others	👁 Image Hub 👁 Image The Moon

Unused features

Items

JE only	👁 Image Uncraftable Potion 👁 Image Splash 👁 Image Lingering 👁 Image Arrow 👁 Image Potion of Luck 👁 Image Splash 👁 Image Lingering 👁 Image Arrow
LCE only	👁 Image debug_fourj_item

Blocks

👁 Image
Petrified Oak Slab

BE only	👁 Image Chalkboard
BE & Edu only	👁 Image Camera 👁 Image Chiseled Purpur 👁 Image Deprecated Anvil 👁 Image Glowing Obsidian 👁 Image Nether Reactor Core 👁 Image tile.deprecated_purpur_block_2.name 👁 Image Old Stonecutter 👁 Image Unknown 👁 Image tile.reserved6.name 👁 Image tile.info_update.name 👁 Image tile.info_update2.name

Entities

JE only	👁 Image Giant 👁 Image Illusioner 👁 Image Killer Bunny 👁 Image Minecart with Monster Spawner
BE only	👁 Image Elder Guardian Ghost 👁 Image Old Villager 👁 Image Zombie 👁 Image Tripod Camera

Biomes

BE only

Effects

👁 Image
Health Boost

JE only	👁 Image Luck 👁 Image Bad Luck

Retrieved from "https://minecraft.wiki/w/Desert_Hills?oldid=3611425"

Categories:

URL: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Desert_Hills

⇱ Desert Hills – Minecraft Wiki

Desert Hills

Contents

Description

Old

Current

Mobs

Sounds

Music

Data values

ID

History

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Data history

Issues

Gallery

See also

Navigation

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