Structure

This page lists structures (also known as generated structures or structure features) in Minecraft. A structure is defined as what is disabled when the "Generate structures" world creation option is turned off. Features, such as monster room and desert wells, do still generate with this option turned off; however, they are listed on this page in § Structure-like features due to them having the appearance of an artificial structure as opposed to a natural formation.

Overworld[]

The Overworld contains numerous structures, at a wide variety of scales.

Underground structures[]

These structures can only generate underground in vanilla default Overworlds.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ancient City	Deep Dark	Long corridors made of deepslate and wool, connecting to a central building with a portal like structure made of reinforced deepslate. The central structure resembles a warden. Small ruins can be found scattered around the ancient city containing loot chests inside.
Mineshaft	Any Overworld biomes except Deep Dark	A maze of corridors supported by wooden beams, with incomplete rail systems on which minecarts with chests can generate. Cave spider spawners may generate here heavily surrounded by cobwebs. In Badlands biomes, they use dark oak planks instead of oak planks, and may generate close to the surface.
Stronghold	Any Overworld biomes	Maze-like stone bricks structures containing many rooms, including one with a usually unactivated end portal frame. In Java Edition, they have a specific, fixed way of generating, and a maximum of 128 can generate in a single world.
Buried Treasure	Beach Snowy Beach Stony Shore‌^{[BE only]} Mushroom Field Shore‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	A single hidden chest containing valuable loot that spawn in beach/shore biomes. They are easily found using treasure maps located in shipwrecks and occasionally ocean ruins.
Trail Ruins	Jungle Old Growth Birch Forest Old Growth Pine Taiga Old Growth Spruce Taiga Snowy Taiga Taiga	A group of ruined buildings meant to resemble small, ancient settlements. The entire structure is buried underground except for the tip of the tower, which is exposed to the surface. The structure can contain suspicious sand and suspicious gravel.
Trial Chambers	Any Overworld biomes	A large structure with trial spawners, vaults and rooms that look like they are player-made with beds and chests.

Aboveground structures[]

These structures only generate aboveground.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Desert Pyramid	Desert Desert Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Large sandstone buildings containing four chests with loot in an underground room hidden beneath terracotta. The chests are trapped with TNT which detonate when a stone pressure plate in the center is stepped on, destroying the chests and their contents.
Igloo	Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga Snowy Slopes	Snow buildings that may have a basement hidden under a carpet. The igloo itself contains nothing much of value, but the basement has a villager and a zombie villager held captive behind iron bars with a sign saying to cure the zombie villager. The splash potion of weakness on the brewing stand, together with the golden apple in the loot chest, can be used to cure the zombie villager, and turn it back into a regular villager.
Jungle Temple	Jungle Bamboo Jungle‌^{[JE only]} Jungle Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Overgrown cobblestone structures containing two loot chests, with one trapped with two dispensers firing arrows by redstone and the other hidden behind a lever puzzle. Setting the correct combination for the lever puzzle moves a block on the main floor, revealing a hidden cavity and the chest.
Pillager Outpost	Plains Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Grove Meadow Cherry Grove‌^{[JE only]} Frozen Peaks Jagged Peaks Stony Peaks Snowy Slopes Snowy Taiga‌^{[BE only]} Sunflower Plains‌^{[BE only]} Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	An assortment of structures spawning pillagers. The main feature of interest is the watchtower: a tall structure built with wood and cobblestone that generates a loot chest on the top. Located around the watchtower are up to four small structures, including tents, target scarecrows, and wooden cages sometimes containing an iron golem or a couple of allays.
Swamp Hut	Swamp	Also known as witch huts, these are small wooden buildings on log stilts containing a cauldron and crafting table. It spawns witches and, upon generation, one black cat. The cat and the first witch do not despawn naturally. You can use these witch huts to create a witch farm, as the witches will spawn automatically.
Village	Plains Meadow Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga‌^{[BE only]} Sunflower Plains‌^{[BE only]} Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	A town full of houses and job sites inhabited by villagers with random professions and up to two iron golems defending the village. They are constructed with a wide variety of materials, depending on the biome that they generate in. Although village buildings do not have variants for jungle and swamp biomes, villagers wear different outfits when spawning in said biomes.
Abandoned Village	Plains Meadow Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga‌^{[BE only]} Sunflower Plains‌^{[BE only]} Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Also known as a Zombie Village. A variant of the regular village, however its run down. Houses no longer have torches, everything is in ruin and all the villagers are zombified. No iron golems spawn either.
Woodland Mansion	Dark Forest Dripstone Caves‌^{[BE only]} Lush Caves‌^{[BE only]} Dark Forest Hills‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Massive, systematically-generated buildings constructed with dark oak wood and a cobblestone foundation. They contain many rooms (some hidden) and loot chests in their three floors, and are inhabited by vindicators and evokers that do not naturally despawn. Allays can sometimes be found in prison cells.

Aboveground and underground structures[]

These structures generate both aboveground and underground.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ruined Portal	Any Overworld and Nether biomes except Deep Dark	An incomplete nether portal constructed with various types of stone or blackstone materials when generating in the Overworld or the Nether respectively. They can generate in varying sizes and positions. A netherrack platform underneath, as well as a loot chest and a few gold blocks, often generates.

Underwater structures[]

Note that ocean ruins and shipwrecks sometimes generate above water on shores, and icebergs are partially above and below water.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ocean Ruins	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Ocean Frozen Ocean Cold Ocean Warm Ocean Lukewarm Ocean Deep Warm Ocean‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	A collection of small structures made of stone bricks or sandstone. Drowned may spawn naturally here.
Shipwreck	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Ocean Frozen Ocean Cold Ocean Warm Ocean Lukewarm Ocean Beach Snowy Beach Mushroom Field Shore‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Wooden structures resembling sunken ships in varying states of deterioration, containing up to three loot chests.
Ocean Monument	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Deep Warm Ocean‌^{[BE only]}(Unused)	Massive prismarine temples inhabited by guardians, as well as three elder guardians in fixed positions. Wet sponges, along with eight blocks of gold as treasure, also generate naturally here. The interior structure is randomly generated, resembling a maze of sorts.

The Nether[]

The Nether, though equally vast, contains far fewer structures than the Overworld.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Nether Fortress	Any Nether biomes	Towering castles made of nether bricks that contain blaze monster spawners and nether wart farms. They are divided into open-air ramparts and winding interior corridors, some of which contain loot chests. wither skeletons and blazes exclusively spawn here.
Bastion Remnant	Nether Wastes Crimson Forest Warped Forest Soul Sand Valley	Enormous, castle-like blackstone structures housing piglins and piglin brutes. They can generate in various forms (bridges, housing units, hoglin stables, and treasure rooms) and chest loot vary from one form to the next.
Nether Fossil	Soul Sand Valley	Fossil variants that are more incomplete and purely composed of bone blocks. Note that in Bedrock Edition it's a feature rather than a structure feature.
Ruined Portal	Any Overworld and Nether biomes	An incomplete nether portal constructed with various types of stone or blackstone materials when generating in the Overworld or the Nether respectively. They can generate in varying sizes and positions. A netherrack platform underneath, as well as a loot chest and a few gold blocks, often generates.

The End[]

The End is the final and most barren dimension, with no structures on its main island. After defeating the ender dragon, gateways to the outer islands are created.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
End City	End Midlands‌^{[JE only]} End Highlands‌^{[JE only]} The End	Sprawling, well-connected towers built from purpur, end stone bricks and Purple Stained Glass. They are inhabited by shulkers that guard valuable loot chests, and the largest, most meandering cities may generate an end ship holding a pair of elytra.

Structure-like features[]

These worldgen features have similarities to structures but they are not true structures. Instead, they are coded and generated the same way as trees or ores. This is why they generate even when the "Generate structures" world option is disabled, and also cannot be located with the /locate command.

Features	Biome(s)	Description
Dungeon	All Overworld Biomes	A small cobblestone room containing a spawner, which spawns zombies, skeletons, or spiders, as well as up to two loot chests. They are typically connected to underground caves but may generate above ground or intersected with true structures such as Mineshafts or Strongholds.
Desert Well	Desert	Small sandstone feature holding water in their center cavity. They do not generate gold or treasure as part of their generation but the water can be used as an infinite water source.
Bonus Chest	Anywhere, near the spawnpoint.	A chest with additional loot, that spawns near the player's spawnpoint if the feature was toggled on when creating the world.
Pile	Plains Meadow Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga‌^{[BE only]} Sunflower Plains‌^{[BE only]}	A pile of blocks that can only generate in villages. There are 5 variants of pile: Hay, Ice, Melon, Pumpkin and Snow.
Forest Rock	Old Growth Spruce Taiga Old Growth Pine Taiga	Small mossy cobblestone boulders randomly found throughout Old Growth Taiga, often partially buried.
Geode	All Overworld Biomes	Large, hollow spherical rocks composed of outer layers of smooth basalt and calcite with an inner layer of amethyst blocks. This is the only place where budding amethyst and amethyst blocks can be found. They come in many sizes, including open geodes and entirely encased geodes.
Fossil	Desert Swamp	Usually buried feature made of bone blocks and some coal ore.
Ice Spike	Ice Spikes	Tall spires made of packed ice, which can only be found on the Ice Spikes biome.
Iceberg	Frozen Ocean (all variants)	A feature varying in size, consisting of packed ice and snow blocks, with blue ice on the bottom. Note, not all iceberg-looking terrain in Frozen Ocean Biome are created by feature but as part of the biome itself through Surface Builders.
Exit Portal	The End	A feature, which has the look of a fountain. It becomes a portal and a Dragon Egg spawns on it after the player beats The Ender Dragon.
End Gateway	End Midlands‌^{[JE only]} End Highlands‌^{[JE only]} The End	A 1-block portal, which activates after the Ender Dragon is defeated. Using a Pearl, the player can teleport on the the outer regions of The End.
Obsidian Pillar	The End	Tall obsidian pillars that hold the Ender Crystals. Some of them also have iron bars.
Obsidian Platform	The End	Obsidian platform on which the player spawns when they enter The End.
Void Start Platform‌^{[JE only]}	The Void	A platform made of stone with a cobblestone block in the center. They can only spawn on Superflat worlds with The Void preset selected. Only available in Java Edition.

Removed structures[]

These are structures that have been removed or exist only in older versions of Minecraft.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Brick Pyramid	Anywhere, since biomes didn't exist back then.	A giant pyramid that had no interior and was made solely out of bricks. The official name for this structure is unknown. Was removed in Java Edition Infdev 20100327.
Glass Pillar	Any Overworld biome.	It's a tall, one-by-one glass pillar which stretched from the end portal room in the stronghold all the way to the build limit. According to Jeb, it was a debug feature that he forgot to remove. It was removed in the version Java Edition Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4.
Starting House	Anywhere on the Java Edition Indev world.	It used to serve as the spawn location for the player during the Indev phase. The first edition of this house was made of mossy cobblestone, but later it was changed to wooden planks. It also included two chests with various items, which was later removed.
Monolith	Anywhere during Infdev.	These were chunk-sized patches of terrain that would generate up to the height limit. They were never intended to be in the game as they were just a glitch. Monoliths were patched in the version Alpha v1.2.0 Preview.
Nether Reactor‌^{[BE only]}	Anywhere, as it's built by the player.	It's a player-built structure that would turn into the Nether Spire, and would give the player access to unobtainable items. The reason for it's addition is because The Nether didn't exist in Pocket Edition back then. Was removed after the addition of The Nether.
Nether Spire‌^{[BE only]}	Anywhere where the Nether Reactor was built.	It was a tall and round structure that spawned over the Nether Reactor. It was made out of obsidian, which was later changed to netherrack. It would spawn various Zombie Pigmen and items from The Nether. It's purpose was to enable the players on Pocket Edition to obtain certain items, since The Nether wasn't implemented yet.
Obsidian Wall	Anywhere, since it stretched towards every direction.	It was a 2 block tall obsidian wall which was only present during some versions of the Infdev phase. It started in the middle of the world, and stretched towards North, South, West and East. This structure doesn't have an official name.

Technical details[]

This article needs to be updated.

Please update this page to reflect recent updates or newly available information.

Structures are generated for a given chunk after the terrain has been formed. The chunk format includes a tag called TerrainPopulated that indicates whether structures whose point of origin is in that chunk have been generated. If it is false or missing, it generates again. Structure generation is based on what is already in the chunk, so (for example) flagging a chunk that has already been populated for repopulation approximately doubles the amount of ore in it. When structures are generated, they can spill over into neighboring chunks that have been previously generated.

Data values[]

ID[]

The following table lists configured structure features' IDs in Java Edition and structure features' IDs in Bedrock Edition. These IDs can be used in /locate command.

Structure name	Java Edition	Bedrock Edition	Dimension
Ancient city	`ancient_city`	`ancientcity` `ancient_city`	Overworld
Bastion remnant	`bastion_remnant`	`bastionremnant` `bastion_remnant`	The Nether
Buried treasure	`buried_treasure`	`buriedtreasure` `buried_treasure`	Overworld
End city	`end_city`	`endcity` `end_city`	The End
Fortress	`fortress`	`fortress`	The Nether
Woodland mansion	`mansion`	`mansion`	Overworld
Mineshaft	`mineshaft` `mineshaft_mesa`	`mineshaft`	Overworld
Monument	`monument`	`monument`	Overworld
Nether fossil	`nether_fossil`	Not a Structure	The Nether
Ocean ruins	`ocean_ruin_cold` `ocean_ruin_warm`	`ruins`	Overworld
Pillager outpost	`pillager_outpost`	`pillageroutpost` `pillager_outpost`	Overworld
Ruined portal	`ruined_portal` `ruined_portal_desert` `ruined_portal_jungle` `ruined_portal_mountain` `ruined_portal_nether` `ruined_portal_ocean` `ruined_portal_swamp`	`ruinedportal` `ruined_portal`	Overworld, The Nether
Shipwreck	`shipwreck` `shipwreck_beached`	`shipwreck`	Overworld
Stronghold	`stronghold`	`stronghold`	Overworld
Desert pyramid	`desert_pyramid`	`temple`	Overworld
Igloo	`igloo`
Jungle pyramid	`jungle_pyramid`
Swamp hut	`swamp_hut`
Trail ruins	`trail_ruins`	`trail_ruins`	Overworld
Village	`village_desert` `village_plains` `village_savanna` `village_snowy` `village_taiga`	`village`	Overworld

Tags[]

This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.

In Java Edition, there are some structure tags in vanilla game.

Tag	Structure(s)
`#cats_spawn_as_black` `#cats_spawn_in`	Swamp hut
`#dolphin_located`	Shipwreck Underwater ruins
`#eye_of_ender_located`	Stronghold
`#mineshaft`	Mineshaft
`#ocean_ruin`	Underwater ruins
`#on_ocean_explorer_maps`	Ocean monument
`#on_treasure_maps`	Buried treasure
`#on_woodland_explorer_maps`	Woodland mansion
`#ruined_portal`	Ruined portal
`#shipwreck`	Shipwreck
`#village`	Village

Achievements[]

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
		Ahoy!	Find a shipwreck	—	20G	Silver
		Me Gold!	Dig up a buried treasure	Open a buried treasure chest	30G	Silver

Advancements[]

Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
Eye Spy	Follow an Eye of Ender	We Need to Go Deeper	Enter a stronghold.	`story/follow_ender_eye`
Those Were the Days	Enter a Bastion Remnant	Nether	—	`nether/find_bastion`
A Terrible Fortress	Break your way into a Nether Fortress	Nether	Enter a nether fortress.	`nether/find_fortress`
The City at the End of the Game	Go on in, what could happen?	Remote Getaway	Enter an end city.	`end/find_end_city`

History[]

Java Edition Infdev
20100625-2					Added dungeons.
Java Edition Beta
1.8		Pre-release			Added mineshafts.
					Added villages.
					Added strongholds.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			Added nether fortresses.
1.2.1		12w04a			Added desert wells.
1.3.1		12w21a			Added desert pyramids.
1.3.1		12w22a			Added jungle pyramids.
1.4.2		12w40a			Added swamp huts.
1.8		14w25a			Added ocean monuments.
1.8.1		pre1			Swamp huts can now spawn witches at levels 64 to 71, enabling three spawning floors for witches.
1.9		15w31a			Added end cities.
1.9		15w43a			Added igloos.
1.10		16w20a			Added fossils.
		16w21a			Blacksmith job sites in villages now generate with cobblestone in all biomes, rather than acacia logs in savannas and sandstone in deserts.
		pre1			Zombie villagers generated in zombie villages no longer despawn.
					Wooden fences are now substituted with the biome’s corresponding wood type.
					Paths no longer replace most blocks, preventing them from generating in treetops or bridging ravines.
1.11		16w39a			Added woodland mansions.
		16w39a			Added the `/locate` command that shows the coordinates of the nearest structures.
		16w42a			Witches that spawn upon the generation of witch huts no longer despawn.
1.13		17w43a			Structures using structure files can now be modified, with the addition of data packs.
		17w47a			Flower pots in swamp huts now contain mushrooms; they were previously empty.
		18w09a			Added ocean ruins.
		18w10a			Added buried treasure chests.
		18w11a			Added shipwrecks.
1.14		18w47a			Added pillager outposts.
1.14		18w48a			Overhauled villages.
1.16		20w06a			Added nether fossils.
1.16		20w16a			Added bastion remnants and ruined portals.
1.17		20w45a			Added amethyst geodes.
1.19		Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1			Added ancient cities.
		22w11a			Removed ancient cities.
		22w13a			Re-added ancient cities.
1.20		23w12a			Added trail ruins.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0		build 1			Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, strongholds, dungeons and desert wells.
v0.10.0		build 1			Abandoned mineshafts now generate on ground level in badlands biomes.
v0.11.0		build 1			Added desert wells.
v0.12.1		build 1			Added the Nether along with nether fortresses.
v0.13.0		build 1			Added desert pyramids.
v0.14.0		build 1			Added swamp huts.
v0.14.0		build 1			Cauldrons in swamp huts are filled with a random potion.
v0.15.0		build 1			Added jungle temples.
					Added savanna and taiga village variants.
					Villages can now generate in cold taiga and ice plains biomes, where village buildings are constructed with spruce wood like in taiga villages.
					Villages have a slim chance to generate as abandoned villages, which spawn zombie villagers. Cobwebs and moss stone replace some blocks in the buildings of such villages.
v0.16.0		build 1			Added ocean monuments.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0		alpha 0.17.0.1			Added the End and along with end cities.
1.0.0		alpha 0.17.0.1			Added igloos.
1.1.0		alpha 1.1.0.0			Added woodland mansions.
1.1.3		alpha 1.1.3.0			Added fossils.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0		beta 1.2.14.2			Added shipwrecks.
		beta 1.2.14.2			Added buried treasure chests.
		beta 1.2.20.1			Added ocean ruins.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Added pillager outposts.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Overhauled villages.
1.16.0		beta 1.16.0.57			Added nether fossils, bastion remnants and ruined portals.
1.17.0		beta 1.17.0.50			Added amethyst geodes.
1.18.30		beta 1.18.30.32			Added ancient city.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added dungeons.
TU5					Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, and strongholds.
TU12					Added desert wells.
TU14		1.04			Added jungle and desert pyramids.
TU19	CU7	1.12			Added swamp huts.
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Added ocean monuments.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Added fossils and igloos.
TU54	CU44	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Added woodland mansions.
TU69		1.76	Patch 38		Added shipwrecks, ocean ruins, icebergs, and buried treasure chests.
		1.91			Added pillager outposts, and plains, desert, savanna, taiga, snowy tundra, and snowy taiga villages.