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The Badlands biome (formerly known as the Mesa biome) is one of Minecraft’s most striking and rare natural environments. With its towering terracotta cliffs, red sand layers, and dramatic rock formations, it offers both visual beauty and valuable resources.

Whether you're on the hunt for exposed mineshafts, abundant gold ore, or just a gorgeous place to build, finding a Badlands biome feels like stumbling upon a hidden gem.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

  • How to locate Badlands through exploration

  • How to use commands or seeds to speed up the process

  • What to expect once you arrive

Let’s jump into how to uncover this colorful and resource-rich biome in your Minecraft world.

What Is The Badlands Biome In Minecraft?

The Badlands biome, formerly known as the Mesa, is one of Minecraft’s most eye-catching and unique biomes. Known for its towering, multi-colored terracotta cliffs and red sand landscapes, this biome stands out as a vibrant desert-like region with a rugged, almost canyon-like appearance.

The badlands biome generated typically in warm regions, and rain never falls here, giving it an arid, sun-scorched atmosphere.

Unlike greener biomes like jungles or savannas, the Badlands offer a dry and dramatic terrain filled with steep plateaus, deep canyons, crescent dunes, badlands tunnels, and stunning rock formations found near mesa plateau edges.

What makes the Badlands especially valuable to Minecraft players is its high concentration of gold ore, which generates closer to the surface than in most other biomes.

The Badlands are also a hotspot for exposed Mineshafts, often seen clinging to plateau tops or sunken into cliffs.

Though the biome is stunning, it presents a challenge. Passive mobs like farm animals rarely spawn in the Badlands, making food and livestock harder to come by. You'll commonly find dead bushes scattered across the terrain, and oak trees only appear in special sub-biomes like the modified wooded badlands plateau.

Badlands Variant Types

The Badlands biome in Minecraft is visually striking and relatively rare, but it also includes a few distinct variants, each offering unique terrain, vegetation, and gameplay opportunities. As of the latest updates, there are several recognized Badlands biome variants:

Normal Badlands (Standard)

This is the base variant of the biome. The standard variation of the Badlands biome in Minecraft features:

  • Layered terracotta cliffs in colors like red, orange, yellow, white, and light gray

  • Red sand covering the surface

  • Exposed abandoned mineshafts visible on cliff sides

  • A dry climate with no rainfall

  • Little to no vegetation and very few passive mobs

This variant is ideal for gold mining and badlands generation exploration but challenging for long-term survival.

Wooded Badlands / Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau

The Wooded Badlands is the only Badlands variant that contains natural vegetation. Key features include:

  • Oak trees growing atop wooded badlands plateaus

  • Patches of coarse dirt and grass

  • A slightly greener hue compared to default badlands

  • Limited passive mob spawning like farm animals

Wooded Badlands provide a rare source of wood and minor resources, making them more survival-friendly than their barren counterparts.

Eroded Badlands Biome

This is the most rugged and decorative variant. It includes:

  • Tall, narrow spires called hoodoos

  • Badlands cave openings and unique terrain layers

  • Difficult navigation but excellent visual value

Often compared to Bryce Canyon, this variant features stunning rock formations and is best for exploration and screenshot-worthy builds.

Where To Find Badlands In Minecraft

The Badlands biome is a warm climate biome and one of the rarer biomes in Minecraft. You are most likely to find it near other warm biomes such as desert biomes, the savanna biome, and occasionally a jungle biome generated nearby. It may also appear near mountain peaks, lush caves, or along river cave entrance systems where terrain shifts dramatically.

Visually, the Badlands biome is easy to spot due to its vibrant terracotta layers and red sand flats. If you're lucky, you might even stumble upon an extremely tiny Badlands biome nestled between riverbeds or caves.

Gold ore is more abundant here than in any other biome, and badlands mineshaft exposed features are frequently seen on surface cliffs or the topmost layer. These mineshafts often contain dark oak mineshafts generated as rare structures.

If you’re playing in Java Edition, the command /locate biome minecraft:badlands helps you instantly find one. In Bedrock Edition, you'll need to analyze the seed or use third-party tools.

How To Teleport To Badlands In Minecraft

Teleporting is one of the fastest ways to reach the Badlands biome, especially with cheats enabled.

How To Locate Badlands With Commands

Use the /locate biome command in Java Edition:

/locate biome minecraft:badlands

In Bedrock Edition, use external tools to locate coordinates. Once found:

/teleport @p [x] [y] [z]

Replace the brackets with coordinates. This gets you quickly into badlands tunnels, gold ore patches, or mineshaft systems embedded in mesa forest plateau formations.

How Rare Are Badlands In Minecraft?

The Badlands biome is among the rarer biomes in the game. Its appearance is infrequent, particularly the eroded badlands biome variant.

You might come across a small patch of Badlands nestled between neighboring biomes like deserts and savannas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are There Villages In The Badlands?

No, villages do not naturally generate within the Badlands biome in Minecraft. However, you might occasionally find desert villages that spawn near or slightly overlap with the Badlands due to bordering terrain. While official gameplay doesn’t include Badlands-specific villages, custom maps and community-made add-ons often introduce Western-style villages inspired by real-world locations like Bandelier National Park.

Can Trees Grow In The Badlands Biome?

Yes, trees can grow in the Badlands biome, but only in the Wooded Badlands variant or the modified wooded badlands plateau. These sub-biomes feature patches of oak trees, grass, and coarse dirt on the plateau tops. The standard Badlands remains mostly barren with terracotta and red sand dominating the surface.

Final Thoughts

The Badlands offer a unique Minecraft experience filled with colorful terrain, hidden badlands structures, and exclusive features like badlands mineshaft systems and accessible gold ore. Whether you're exploring the badlands plateau, marveling at stunning rock formations, or searching for a mesa biome or crescent dunes, there’s always something to discover.

From the description badlands biomes to rare terrain surface features and added mesa biomes, each element adds gameplay depth. Whether you love building amid towering cliffs or surviving in a place where hostile mobs roam under sunset atop orange canyons, Minecraft’s Badlands biome remains one of the game’s most visually iconic and thrilling environments.