Eroded Badlands

The eroded badlands or mesa bryce biome is a variant of the badlands notable for its hoodoos.

Generation

Eroded badlands generate in place of regular badlands in positive weirdness when humidity values are low, which often results in eroded badlands getting separated from badlands by a river or dry valley.

Biomes that often border eroded badlands include deserts near lower terrain and oceans, regular badlands, savannas, savanna plateaus, plains, and uncommonly forests. Badlands can also generate in mountain peaks, where they can elevate up to Y=256 and border stony peaks. The deep dark and dripstone caves might generate beneath eroded badlands.

Description

The biome generates similar to regular badlands, with red, orange, yellow, white, light gray, brown, and regular terracotta forming the landscape. Lower grounds are mostly made of red sand and red sandstone, with brown terracotta underneath. Dead bushes grow on terracotta and red sand, while cacti along with occasional cactus flowers only appear on red sand. Like all badlands biomes, gold ore generates more frequently and closer to the surface, and mineshafts made out of dark oak can also be found, often exposed to air.

Rainfall never occurs in eroded badlands, as the biome is arid, and lightning never strikes here.

Eroded badlands feature unique formations of terracotta hoodoos, narrow spires that rise up from the red sand floor of the biome's drainage basins. The hoodoos only generate at lower elevations. At higher elevations, the biome is indistinct from the regular badlands. The biome is intended to resemble the famous Bryce Canyon in Utah, USA, which features hoodoos across its landscape.

Mobs found within eroded badlands are the same as regular badlands: Farm animals can only spawn on player-created grass blocks in this biome, and generate their warm variants. Armadillos also inhabit eroded badlands.

With Vibrant Visuals, eroded badlands have unique atmospherics, the sky is tinted turquoise-green at daytime and much brighter during the night, while the daytime horizon is tinted brown. Moonlight is more vibrant blue, and the warm color grading tints the environment more yellow, although color saturation is slightly lower.

Mobs

The following mobs naturally spawn here:

In **Java Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Skeleton	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Slime^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₁₅	4
Zombie	⁹⁵⁄₅₁₅	4
Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₁₅	1–4
Witch	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
Zombie Villager	⁵⁄₅₁₅	1
Creature category
Sheep	¹²⁄₄₆	4
Warm Pig	¹⁰⁄₄₆	4
Warm Chicken	¹⁰⁄₄₆	4
Warm Cow	⁸⁄₄₆	4
Armadillo	⁶⁄₄₆	1–2
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

In **Bedrock Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	100	1
Slime^{[note 1]}	100	1
Spider	100	1
Zombie	95	2–4
Skeleton	80	1–2
Enderman	10	1–2
Witch	5	1
Zombie Villager	5	2–4
Creature category
Sheep	12	2–3
Warm Chicken	10	2–4
Glow Squid	10	2–4
Warm Pig	10	1–3
Warm Cow	8	2–3
Armadillo	6	1–2
Ambient category
Bat	1	2

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Sounds

Music

These music tracks play while the player is in the eroded badlands:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
Memories		2	13.33%	2	5.71%
Crescent Dunes		1	6.67%	—	—
Danny		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Dry Hands		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Echo in the Wind		1	6.67%	—	—
Featherfall		1	6.67%	—	—
Haggstrom		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Key		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Living Mice		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Mice on Venus		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
One More Day		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Oxygène		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Subwoofer Lullaby		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Wet Hands		1	6.67%	1	2.86%
Ebb		—	—	2	5.71%
Home		—	—	2	5.71%
Nightly		—	—	2	5.71%
Shores		—	—	2	5.71%
Below and Above		—	—	1	2.86%
Broken Clocks		—	—	1	2.86%
Clark		—	—	1	2.86%
Comforting Memories		—	—	1	2.86%
Fireflies		—	—	1	2.86%
Floating Dream		—	—	1	2.86%
komorebi		—	—	1	2.86%
Left to Bloom		—	—	1	2.86%
Lilypad		—	—	1	2.86%
Minecraft		—	—	1	2.86%
O's Piano		—	—	1	2.86%
Puzzlebox		—	—	1	2.86%
Sweden		—	—	1	2.86%
Watcher		—	—	1	2.86%
yakusoku		—	—	1	2.86%

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Translation key
Eroded Badlands	`eroded_badlands`	`biome.minecraft.eroded_badlands`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`mesa_bryce`	`165`

Achievements


Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		Adventuring Time	Discover 17 biomes.	Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world.	40	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Adventuring Time	Discover every biome	Visit all of these 55^{[until: Third Drop 2026]}/56^[upcoming] biomes: Badlands Bamboo Jungle Beach Birch Forest Cherry Grove Cold Ocean Dappled Forest Dark Forest Deep Cold Ocean Deep Dark Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Deep Ocean Desert Dripstone Caves Eroded Badlands Flower Forest Forest Frozen Ocean Frozen Peaks Frozen River Grove Ice Spikes Jagged Peaks Jungle Lukewarm Ocean Lush Caves Mangrove Swamp Meadow Mushroom Fields Ocean Old Growth Birch Forest Old Growth Pine Taiga Old Growth Spruce Taiga Pale Garden Plains River Savanna Savanna Plateau Snowy Beach Snowy Plains Snowy Slopes Snowy Taiga Sparse Jungle Stony Peaks Stony Shore Sunflower Plains Sulfur Caves Swamp Taiga Warm Ocean Windswept Forest Windswept Gravelly Hills Windswept Hills Windswept Savanna Wooded Badlands The advancement is only for Overworld biomes. Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.

History

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.7.2	13w36a	Added mesa (bryce), along with many other biomes, and the temperature system.
	13w37a	Slightly changed mesa biome generation to appear more layered.
	13w39a	Red sand now generates in mesa biomes and their variants.
1.8	14w32a	Red sandstone now generates in cave entrances instead of floating red sand.
1.10	16w20a	Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
		In mesa biomes, hardened clay no longer generates more than 15 blocks deep, if the mesa is more than 15 blocks above sea level.
		The normal 2 blobs of gold ore below Y=32 in mesas now attempt to generate 20 blobs at elevations between 32 and 79.
		Mesas can now generate dark oak mineshafts above ground.
		Red sandstone no longer generates in cave entrances.
1.13	18w19a	Renamed "Mesa (Bryce)" to "Eroded Badlands".
1.18	Experimental Snapshot 1	Eroded badlands no longer generate.
	experimental snapshot 2	Eroded badlands generate once again.
	21w44a	Eroded badlands are now required for the "Adventuring Time" advancement.
1.18.2	22w03a	Tweaked generation of eroded badlands to generate more cohesively with the rest of the surrounding badlands.
1.18.2	22w05a	Temporarily reverted changes in the previous snapshot.
1.19	22w13a	Eroded badlands now require weirdness to be positive to generate, rather than negative. Other requirements such as temperature/humidity are unchanged.
1.20	23w17a	"Crescent Dunes", and "Echo in the Wind" can now be played in eroded badlands.
1.20.5	24w03a	Armadillos now spawn in eroded badlands.
1.20.5	24w11a	Wolves summoned in eroded badlands using spawn eggs or commands, or by them simply spawning there due to a pack spawning along a biome boundary are now the striped variant instead of the pale variant.
1.21.5	25w02a	Farm animals can now spawn in eroded badlands.
	25w02a	Pigs that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
	25w05a	Cows that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
	25w06a	Chickens that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
	25w06a	Short dry grass, tall dry grass and cactus flowers now generate in eroded badlands.
	25w09a	The firefly bush can now generate near water in all types of badlands (very rarely), like other biomes with water.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0	build 1	Mesa biomes added, along with many other biomes.
v0.9.0	build 1	The hoodoos in mesa bryce biomes do not generate correctly, consisting of only a few layers of stone near sea level.
v0.9.5		Hoodoos now generate correctly in mesa bryce biomes.
v0.10.0	build 1	Mesa biomes now have gold ore at every elevation.
v0.10.0	build 1	Mesas can now generate mineshafts on the surface.
Bedrock Edition
? Experiment Caves and Cliffs	?	Hoodoos no longer generate in eroded badlands, making them undistinguishable from regular badlands.
1.17.30 Experiment Caves and Cliffs	beta 1.17.30.23	Eroded badlands no longer generate.
1.17.40 Experiment Caves and Cliffs	beta 1.17.40.20	Eroded badlands generate once again.
1.18.0	beta 1.18.0.21	Hoodoos once again generate in eroded badlands.
	beta 1.18.0.22	The extra gold ore in badlands biomes now generates up Y=255.
	beta 1.18.0.25	The amount of hoodoos generated in eroded badlands was decreased to match Java Edition.
1.20.70 Experiment Armadillo and Wolf Armor	Preview 1.20.70.20	Armadillos now spawn in eroded badlands.
1.21.60 Experiment Drop 1 2025	Preview 1.21.60.25	Pigs that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
1.21.70 Experiment Drop 1 2025	Preview 1.21.70.20	Cows that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
	Preview 1.21.70.22	Chickens that spawn in eroded badlands are now the warm variant.
	Preview 1.21.70.22	Short dry grass, tall dry grass and cactus flowers now generate in eroded badlands.
1.21.90	Preview 1.21.90.26	Added unique atmospherics and color grading, and warmish lighting to eroded badlands with Vibrant Visuals.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3	1.0.1	Added mesa biomes, along with many other biomes.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13	1.0.1	Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added mesa biomes.

Data history

Java Edition
1.13			pre5				Changed the ID `mutated_mesa` to `eroded_badlands`.
1.18			21w37a				Prior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 165.

Old generation

Before Caves & Cliffs, eroded badlands were a mutation of the badlands biome, both having flat terrain and no plateaus. It generated similarly to badlands as an edge around rare dry temperature zone or as small spots within badlands plateaus, but surrounding biomes were often mutated as well into modified badlands plateaus and modified wooded badlands plateaus. Unlike regular badlands, no desert border generated next to temperate biomes, and beaches did generate next to oceans.

The hoodoos in eroded badlands often lined up with the larger badlands plateaus, although they could extend much higher.

Issues

Issues relating to "Eroded Badlands" or "Mesa (bryce)" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

A river flowing through eroded badlands
An eroded badlands single biome world

Historical screenshots

A rare occurrence of eroded badlands and ice spikes touching, which is no longer possible
Eroded badlands as an edge biome between a modified badlands plateau and swamp hills
Hoodoos reaching higher altitudes than the usual badlands plateaus
A beach biome separating eroded badlands from oceans
A jungle biome bordering eroded badlands
An eroded badlands single biome world before 1.18
Eroded badlands with ray tracing
Eroded badlands generation prior to Pocket Edition v0.9.5 alpha

Mojang images

Eroded badlands next to an ocean
Eroded badlands at night
Development of eroded badlands
Sunny hopping across eroded badlands
Eroded badlands in development

External links

"Around the Block: Eroded Badlands" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, November 14, 2022.

[Slime-1] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[Slime-2] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.