Desert Hills

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.

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.

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

Old

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

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

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
Rabbit^{[note 1]}	1	2–3
Monster category
Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Skeleton	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Slime^{[note 2]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Husk	⁸⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Zombie	¹⁹⁄₅₁₅	4
Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₁₅	1–4
Witch	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
Zombie Villager	¹⁄₅₁₅	1
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

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

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

Sounds

Music

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

ID

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`desert_hills`	`17`

History

Java Edition

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

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

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

Issues

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

Gallery

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