The Mesa biome, also called Badlands, is one of Minecraft’s rarest and most distinctive landscapes. It’s basically a desert with better views, featuring layered red sand and brightly colored terracotta that looks like actual geological formations. If you’re hunting for gold, this is the place.
What Makes Mesa Special
Mesa biomes are pretty uncommon, so count yourself lucky if you find one. The terrain is made up of red sand, and the landscape is covered in stacks of different colored terracotta, red, orange, yellow, white, and light gray. Gold ore shows up way more often here than anywhere else in the Overworld, which makes it a solid farming spot if you need some fast gold.
The whole vibe is dry and hot. No rain here. The landscape is rough with deep ravines and cliffs carved through the colorful layers. Sometimes you’ll find rivers running through the canyons.
Weather and Climate
Mesa biomes don’t get rain. It’s consistently dry with high heat. You’ll never see snow or thunderstorms, so bring water for farming if you need it.
Plants and Trees
There are basically no trees in the Mesa. You get dead bushes and cacti. That’s it. If you need wood, you’ll have to head to the nearby Mesa Plateau where oak trees actually grow. The plateau itself can have some vegetation, but the main Mesa biome is almost completely barren.
Blocks You’ll Find
The defining blocks here are:
- Red Sand
- Terracotta (natural color)
- Yellow Terracotta
- Red Terracotta
- Orange Terracotta
- White Terracotta
- Light Gray Terracotta
Dig down deep enough and you’ll hit normal Minecraft stuff: stone, coal ore, iron ore, gold ore, diamond ore, redstone ore, and copper ore. Gold is your main reason to be here though, and you’ll find it in much higher quantities than other biomes.
Mobs and Creatures
Wildlife is minimal. Squids spawn in any rivers. At night you get the standard hostile mobs like creepers, skeletons, zombies, endermen, spiders, and witches. Nothing unique to the biome though.
Biome ID
For commands and tools, use this ID:
minecraft:badlands
This works in Java Edition 1.16 and later. Some older versions use different IDs, so check your version if commands aren’t working.
Finding Mesa Biomes
Mesa biomes are rare enough that you might explore for hours without finding one. Use the /locatebiome minecraft:badlands command to find the nearest one. Or use a seed that spawns you right next to one if you want to skip the search.