Lava

{
 "title": "Lava",
 "rows": [
 {
 "field": "Yes",
 "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
 },
 {
 "field": "Yes",
 "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
 },
 {
 "field": "Yes (15)",
 "label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminance)"
 },
 {
 "field": "100",
 "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"height:32px;width:32px;--vertical-align:middle\">(link to File:SlotSprite Bucket Required.png article, displayed as 32x32px|link=Bucket|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>",
 "label": "Tool"
 },
 {
 "field": "No",
 "label": "Creates sources?"
 },
 {
 "field": "4 blocks (Overworld, End)<br>8 blocks (Nether)",
 "label": "Flow distance"
 },
 {
 "field": "30 (link to tick article, displayed as ticks)/block (Overworld, End)<br> 10 (link to tick article, displayed as ticks)/block (Nether)",
 "label": "Flow speed"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> 4 FIRE</span>",
 "label": "(link to Map color article, displayed as Map color)"
 }
 ],
 "invimages": [
 "Lava Bucket"
 ],
 "images": [
 "Lava.gif",
 "Lava BE.png"
 ]
}

Lava is a light-emitting fluid that causes fire damage, mostly found in the lower reaches of the Overworld and the Nether.

Lava can be collected by using a bucket on a lava source block or a full lava cauldron, converting the bucket to a lava bucket. Lava may be obtained renewably from cauldrons, as pointed dripstone with a lava source above it can slowly fill a cauldron with lava (if in the Nether, the source of lava isn't necessary).

In Java Edition, lava does not have a direct item form, but in Bedrock Edition it may be obtained as an item via inventory editing or add-ons.

During world generation, lava replaces air blocks generated in caves and canyons between Y=-55 and Y=-63. Aquifers are sometimes filled with lava below Y=0. Lava does not replace air blocks inside mineshafts, monster rooms, amethyst geodes, or strongholds.

Lava can also occur as lava flows from a single spring block, pouring down walls into pools. The spring block can be on the side of a cave, ravine, mineshaft, or stone cliff above ground.

Lava also generates as small lava lakes, which can be found above Y=0 within any biome.

Two blocks of lava can also be found in plains, snowy plains, and desert village weaponsmith buildings, or one source in savanna village weaponsmith buildings.

Fifteen blocks of lava can be found in the End portal room of a stronghold: 3 along each side wall, and 9 below the portal frame.

Lava also generates in woodland mansions: two blocks of lava generate in the "forge room", and 25 blocks of lava generate in a secret "lava room".

In the Nether, lava is more common than water is in the Overworld. Seas of lava occur, with sea level at y-level 32, about a quarter of the total height of the Nether (as the usable space in the Nether is 128 blocks tall). They can extend down to about y-level 19-22. Lava also randomly appears in single blocks inside netherrack formations. There are also large pockets of lava generated under y=19 and can reach all the way down to bedrock level. These pockets are generally over 12 blocks in height and often connect to a large lava lake on y=32; the size of these pockets in 1.18 can range from the size of a singular pre-1.18 ravine to multiple ravines combined.

Lava generates as delta shapes, which can be found commonly in the basalt deltas biome. Lava is also generated as a single source in well rooms in Nether fortresses. Lava also generates in ruined portals and bastion remnants.

If there is a lava source above a pointed dripstone stalactite, there is a ¹⁵⁄₂₅₆ (~5.9%) chance for it to completely fill an empty cauldron within 10 blocks under the tip with lava after a random tick. This lava can then be scooped with a bucket, making it a renewable resource.

Unlike water source blocks, new lava source blocks cannot be created in a space by two or more adjacent source blocks. However in Java Edition, if the game rule lavaSourceConversion is set to true, new lava source blocks can form in a similar way to water source blocks.

Most entities take 4HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
damage every tick (although damage immunity reduces this to once every half-second) while in contact with lava, and are set on fire. An entity or player in lava also has its remainingFireTicks set to 300, setting it on fire for 15 seconds. This timer is reset to 300 every tick that the victim spends in lava, so it starts counting down once the victim leaves the lava. Once the victim does exit the lava source, it burns for just under 15 seconds, taking fire damage 14 times. This is due to the fact that for the first tick outside of lava, its remainingFireTicks decreases to 299, and entities take fire damage when remainingFireTicks is a multiple of 20 and greater than 0. If the victim touches water or rain, the fire is extinguished, but the lava continues to damage them directly.

In addition, a dense fog effect is applied for players under lava to obscure vision. This can be slightly mitigated via the Fire Resistance effect. In Spectator mode, the fog effect is removed and players can see through lava.

In Bedrock Edition, a player with the Fire Resistance effect or a total Fire Protection of 7 or higher does not catch fire.

Most of the Nether mobs (blazes, ghasts, magma cubes, striders, wither skeletons, zoglins, and zombified piglins), agents, NPCs, vexes, ender dragons, shulkers, wardens, withers, and players or mobs affected by the Fire Resistance effect are not damaged when touching lava.

The embers or fireballs that fly out of lava are purely decorative and do not cause fires or damage to entities. When rain falls on lava, the black ember particles appear more frequently.

A player in lava lasts a few seconds before dying:

• 2.5 seconds with no armor
• 3.5 seconds with full leather armor, no enchantments
• 4 seconds with full gold armor, no enchantments
• 4.5 seconds with full chainmail armor, no enchantments
• 5.5 seconds with full iron armor, no enchantments
• 10.5 seconds with full diamond armor, no enchantments
• 11 seconds with full netherite armor, no enchantments

• 2.5 seconds with no armor
• 3.5 seconds with full leather armor, no enchantments
• 4.5 seconds with full gold armor, no enchantments
• 5 seconds with full chainmail armor, no enchantments
• 6.5 seconds with full iron armor, no enchantments
• 12.5 seconds with full diamond armor, no enchantments
• 12.5 seconds with full netherite armor, no enchantments

A player who is wearing armor enchanted with Fire Protection can survive even longer. With the maximum bonus, the damage is small enough that the natural healing from a full hunger bar can outpace it,‌^{[JE only]} so a player who has food and armor that resists damage (non-netherite armor is damaged by lava) could survive indefinitely. This damage-resisting condition can be attained by wearing two pieces of armor with Fire Protection IV and one with Protection IV, or one piece of armor with Fire Protection IV and three with Protection IV.

Lava—of any depth, both source blocks and flowing—can cause fires by turning air blocks to fire blocks.

In order for air above lava to turn to fire, a block adjacent to the air has to be flammable, or one of the wood-constructed non-flammable blocks. Since catching fire depends on air blocks, even torches or lava itself can prevent a flammable block from catching fire. Additionally, not all flammable or wood-constructed blocks can be ignited by lava. Fire can spread at a distance from the lava, and it can spread through at least non-solid blocks (like glass blocks).

Additional conditions must be met, depending on the edition of Minecraft.

Air block must be in a 3×1×3 area right above the lava or in a 5×1×5 2 blocks above the lava.

An air block in the 5×1×5 area does not catch on fire if the 3×1×3 area is completely filled, even if the latter is filled with flammable blocks.

The block to be set on fire must be in a 3×3×3 cube centered on a lava block, above which there must be either air or an ignitable block.

Lava flows from "source blocks". Most streams or "lava-falls" come from a single source block, but lava lakes (including the "flood lava" in the bottom 10 layers) are composed entirely of source blocks. A source block can be captured only with a bucket.

In the Overworld and the End, lava travels 3 blocks in any horizontal direction from a source block. Lava flows far more slowly than water (1 block every 30 game ticks, or 1.5 seconds), and sourceless lava flows linger for a short time more. In the Nether, lava travels 7 blocks horizontally and spreads 1 block every 10 game ticks, or 2 blocks per second, which is half the speed of water in the Overworld. In all dimensions, lava spreading uses the same mechanic as water: For every adjacent block it can flow into it tries to find a way down that is reachable in four or fewer blocks from the block it wants to flow to. When found, the flow weight for that direction is set to the shortest path distance to the way down. (This can result in lava flows turning toward dropoffs that they cannot reach in the Overworld and the End.)

Flowing lava destroys certain non-solid blocks similarly to water. However, those blocks do not drop their loot when destroyed by lava. Sugar canes hold back lava, but disappear if the sugar cane's water source is destroyed by the lava.

A one-block lava flow can be redirected by receiving block updates, which causes it to reset the flow toward the now-nearest terrain depression, but does not cut off its current direction of flow. The change cannot be reversed.

In Bedrock Edition the /setblock command can be used to create stationary lava without the use of barriers.

Flowing lava can push entities, including those that do not take lava damage.

Water and lava can produce stone, cobblestone, or obsidian based on how they interact. Lava can also generate basalt when above soul soil and touching blue ice.

Lava blocks emit a light level of 15.

An entity moving in lava has its horizontal movement speed reduced by 50% and its vertical movement speed reduced by 20%. A player cannot sprint-swim in lava.

Lava can partially or completely absorb fall damage: for each tick an entity spends inside of lava, its fall distance^{[note 1]} is halved.

Lava above a block that has a top surface that is 1+ blocks high (excluding blocks with the impermeable block tag) produces dripping particles on the underside of that block (unless said block has a 0 blocks high bottom surface and another block with a 1+ blocks high top surface below itself). These droplets do not do anything other than warn the player that a deluge of lava lies above that block. The particles function identically to their water counterparts, except that they drip slower.

Flowing lava can set off tripwires because it breaks placed string. Lava triggers a tripwire only once.

Any item dropped into lava is immediately destroyed, except for netherite-related items.

Lava can be placed in an empty cauldron.

If lava is above a non-transparent block supporting pointed dripstone, dripping particles are created on the end. These can fill cauldrons with lava.

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Lava spends most of its time as stationary, rather than 'flowing' – regardless of its level, or whether it contains a current downward or to the side. When specifically triggered by a block update, lava changes to 'flowing', update its level, then change back to stationary. Lava springs are generated as flowing, and lava lakes are generated as stationary.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:
Lava and flowing lava

Java Edition:
Lava

Flowing lava

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

• An arrow catches fire when shot into flowing lava, but not still lava.
• Water flows into lava-occupied blocks as though it were empty space, and vice versa.
• Although lava is a fluid, it is not possible to drown in lava. This applies to all mobs. However, it is still possible to suffocate in lava. This applies to almost every mob.‌^{[Bedrock Edition only][6]}
• If the lava texture is changed to be transparent via a resource pack, it does not become transparent.
• In Bedrock Edition, lava does not deactivate elytra like water does.
• Geologically, lava in the Overworld is consistent with felsic lava, and lava in the Nether is consistent with mafic lava. Felsic lava is slow, sticky, and does not run as far as mafic lava, which is relatively thin and runny.
• In 22w44a, when the gamerule lavaSourceConversion was added, the title of the game rule in the "Edit Game Rules" section of the "Create World Screen" had "lava" misspelled as "lave".^[7] A splash text was later added in 1.19.3-pre1 that says "Made with lave!".

• 👁 Lava's melting pattern for snow and ice.
  
  Lava's melting pattern for snow and ice.
• 👁 A natural lava spring near a waterfall.
  
  A natural lava spring near a waterfall.
• 👁 A naturally-occurring stream of lava next to diamond ore.
  
  A naturally-occurring stream of lava next to diamond ore.
• 👁 The warning in Legacy Console Edition when trying to place lava near the spawn point.
  
  The warning in Legacy Console Edition when trying to place lava near the spawn point.
• 👁 A running lava source (origin not seen) uncovered six blocks below the surface of desert terrain.
  
  A running lava source (origin not seen) uncovered six blocks below the surface of desert terrain.
• 👁 Lava fog is so dense that it even fades held items on the HUD.
  
  Lava fog is so dense that it even fades held items on the HUD.
• 👁 Lava fog with Fire Resistance.
  
  Lava fog with Fire Resistance.
• 👁 The inside view of lava with the night vision effect.
  
  The inside view of lava with the night vision effect.
• 👁 Ladders can stop lava from flowing.
  
  Ladders can stop lava from flowing.
• 👁 A lava spring.
  
  A lava spring.
• 👁 Lava in a ravine.
  
  Lava in a ravine.
• 👁 Lava generates on bedrock.
  
  Lava generates on bedrock.
• 👁 Lava being extinguished into obsidian near bedrock.
  
  Lava being extinguished into obsidian near bedrock.
• 👁 Lava pool and water pool meeting each other naturally.
  
  Lava pool and water pool meeting each other naturally.
• 👁 Two lava springs meeting water in a windswept savanna.
  
  Two lava springs meeting water in a windswept savanna.
• 👁 Sugar cane growing with lava flowing around it.
  
  Sugar cane growing with lava flowing around it.
• 👁 Tall lavafall flowing into ravine.
  
  Tall lavafall flowing into ravine.
• 👁 Ravine with multiple ores, water and lava falls, and stronghold bridge over it.
  
  Ravine with multiple ores, water and lava falls, and stronghold bridge over it.
• 👁 Lava texture in Classic 0.0.21a_01.
  
  Lava texture in Classic 0.0.21a_01.
• 👁 Lava setting fire to grass.
  
  Lava setting fire to grass.

• 👁 Ez inside a lava pyramid.
  
  Ez inside a lava pyramid.
• 👁 Lava in a Nether fortress.
  
  Lava in a Nether fortress.
• 👁 A village ravaged by lava.
  
  A village ravaged by lava.
• 👁 Steve surrounded by lava.
  
  Steve surrounded by lava.
• 👁 Steve surrounded by even more lava.
  
  Steve surrounded by even more lava.

• 👁 Lava soup in a bowl
  
  Lava soup in a bowl.
• 👁 An officially licensed lava block moodlight.
  
  An officially licensed lava block moodlight.
• 👁 Light up lava.
  
  Light up lava.
• 👁 Lava in A Minecraft Movie.
  
  Lava in A Minecraft Movie.
• 👁 Jonathan Minecraft dying in lava
  
  Jonathan Minecraft dying in lava

• "Block of the Week: Lava" by September 29, 2017 – Minecraft.net, September 29, 2017.