Windswept Hills

Windswept Hills
Features	Spruce‌[JE only]; Oak‌[JE only]
Blocks	Grass Block; Snow; Stone; Emerald Ore; Coal Ore; Iron Ore; Infested Stone; Bush
Climate
Temperature	0.2
Downfall	0.3
Precipitation	Yes
Snow; accumulation‌[BE only]	0.0-0.25
Colors
Grass color	; #8AB689
Foliage color	; #6DA36B
Dry foliage color	; #977752
Water color	; #3F76E4‌[JE only]; ; #007BF7‌[BE only]
Vibrant Visuals
Atmospherics	Default
Lighting	Cold
Volumetric fog	Default
Color grading	Coolish

Windswept hills or extreme hills are cold mountainous biomes with shattered terrain covered by grass blocks and stone. Windswept hills generate in areas with high erosion close to swamps, often bordering their wooded and gravelly variants.

Generation

Windswept hills generate similarly to mountains, usually inland at elevated terrain, though only when the erosion is moderately high. This causes somewhat lower terrain, often rugged, jagged, or shattered with floating islands. Surrounding terrain is often very flat, or consists of swampland.

Windswept hills generate in cold to temperate climates with low to moderate humidity, commonly neighboring forests, plains, flower forests, and sunflower plains. In colder regions, snowy plains and snowy taigas are more likely to generate nearby.

When humidity increases, windswept hills can border the windswept forest variant. Near lower temperatures and humidities, windswept gravelly hills sometimes border, and near higher temperatures, windswept savannas sometimes generate.

Dripstone caves often generate beneath windswept hills located far inland. Sulfur caves may generate in areas with low weirdness, while ice caves can generate in particularly cold regions with high weirdness.^{[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026]}

Description

In windswept hills, the grass and leaves are an aqua color. These are the only biomes, besides mountain biomes, where emerald ore is found. Like mountains, infested blocks with silverfish can be generated underground below the sea level.

The ground consists of many exposed stone blocks and ores, with some patches of grass blocks in between. Above Y=120±8, rainfall changes to snowfall, and the hills becomes snow-capped, along with water freezing into ice.

In Java Edition, oak and spruce trees generate occasionally, while these are exclusive to the windswept forest in Bedrock Edition. Bushes generate on the sparse grasslands, and llamas can spawn here together with cold animal variants.

With Vibrant Visuals, windswept hills use default environmental settings with a coolish color grading, making the biome appear colder blue. They use cold sunlight, which appears slightly brighter at dusk and dawn.

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	¹²⁄₄₅	4
Cold Chicken	¹⁰⁄₄₅	4
Cold Pig	¹⁰⁄₄₅	4
Cold Cow	⁸⁄₄₅	4
Llama	⁵⁄₄₅	4–6
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
Cold Chicken	10	2–4
Glow Squid	10	2–4
Cold Pig	10	1–3
Cold Cow	8	2–3
Llama	5	4–6
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Sounds

Music

These music tracks play while the player is in windswept hills:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
A Familiar Room		1	2.70%	—	—
Below and Above		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Broken Clocks		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Clark		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Comforting Memories		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Danny		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Dry Hands		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Ebb		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Featherfall		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Fireflies		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Floating Dream		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Haggstrom		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Home		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Key		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
komorebi		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Left to Bloom		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Lilypad		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Living Mice		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Memories		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Mice on Venus		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Minecraft		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Nightly		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
One More Day		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
O's Piano		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Oxygène		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Puzzlebox		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Shores		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Subwoofer Lullaby		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Sweden		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Watcher		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Wet Hands		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
yakusoku		1	2.70%	1	2.78%

In Creative mode, the following tracks can play:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
Aria Math		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Biome Fest		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Blind Spots		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Dreiton		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Haunt Muskie		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Taswell		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Key		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Subwoofer Lullaby		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Living Mice		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Haggstrom		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Minecraft		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Oxygène		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Mice on Venus		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Dry Hands		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Wet Hands		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Clark		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Sweden		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Danny		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Left to Bloom		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
One More Day		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Floating Dream		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Comforting Memories		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
A Familiar Room		1	3.03%	—	—
Featherfall		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Watcher		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Puzzlebox		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
komorebi		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
yakusoku		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Lilypad		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Below and Above		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
O's Piano		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Broken Clocks		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Fireflies		1	3.03%	1	3.13%

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Translation key
Windswept Hills	`windswept_hills`	`biome.minecraft.windswept_hills`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`extreme_hills`	`3`

Biome definition

This section is a work in progress.

Anyone is encouraged to edit this page and add more content into the topic.
Additional note: To be converted to standard JSON tree view - see Forum:Include enchantment, biome and dimension definitions in the Data values section for project info

Press "show" to display json contents

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      "minecraft:ore_andesite_lower",
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      "minecraft:ore_coal_upper",
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  "temperature": 0.2
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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 56^{[until: Fourth Drop 2026]}/57^[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 Caves 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

Announcement

September 28, 2019							During MINECON Live 2019, the mountains won the community biome vote; additions were improved terrain generation, powder snow, and goats.
October 3, 2020							The Caves & Cliffs update was announced at Minecraft Live 2020, showing a sneak peek at goats and the new mountain generation.
March 5, 2021							It is announced that the biome renamed to mountains in 1.13 may be renamed back to Extreme Hills.

Java Edition

Java Edition Beta
1.8	Pre-release	Added extreme hills. Mountains and hills could still generate prior to this, but they were random parts of the terrain and not considered their own biome.
Java Edition
1.1	12w01a	Reduced the height of extreme hills.
1.7.2	13w36a	Spruce trees and snow layers now generate in extreme hills.
		The surface now contains large stone, dirt and gravel patches.
		Extreme hills are now required for the new "Adventuring Time" achievement.
1.13	18w19a	"Extreme Hills" has been renamed to "Mountains".
1.13	pre5	The ID `extreme_hills` has been changed to `mountains`.
1.17	21w13a	Goats now spawn in mountains, a placeholder until the new mountains are added.
1.18	Experimental Snapshot 1	Due to the new terrain generator, mountains have become much less common.
	Experimental Snapshot 1	Goats no longer spawn in mountains.
	experimental snapshot 2	"Mountains" have been renamed back to "Extreme Hills".
	experimental snapshot 2	The ID `mountains` has been changed back to `extreme_hills`.
	experimental snapshot 4	Increased the extremity of terrain in extreme hills.
	21w37a	Renamed "Extreme Hills" back to "Mountains".
		The ID `extreme_hills` has been changed back to `mountains`.
		Prior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 3.
	21w40a	"Mountains" has been renamed to "Windswept Hills".
	21w40a	The ID `mountains` has been changed to `windswept_hills`.
1.20	23w17a	"A Familiar Room" may now be played in windswept hills.
1.21.5	25w02a	Pigs that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.
	25w05a	Added bushes, which can generate in windswept hills.
	25w05a	Cows that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.
	25w06a	Chickens that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0	build 1	Added a proper extreme hills biome, along with many other biomes. Mountains and hills could still generate prior to this, but they were random parts of the terrain and not considered their own biome.
v0.9.0	build 1	Only pine trees now generate (not oak trees as well) in extreme hills. The trees are found only in the wooded variant.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0	beta 1.2.0.2	Added snow layers to extreme hills.
1.16.200 Experiment Caves and Cliffs	beta 1.16.200.52	Added goats, which currently spawn in extreme hills as a placeholder.
1.16.220 Experiment Caves and Cliffs	beta 1.16.220.50	Goats no longer spawn in the extreme hills biome.
1.18.0	?	Snowfall now occurs above Y=120±8 instead of 90±8. This change causes most snow to melt in old terrain.
1.21.60 Experiment Drop 1 2025	Preview 1.21.60.25	Pigs that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.
1.21.70 Experiment Drop 1 2025	Preview 1.21.70.20	Added bushes, which can generate in windswept hills.
	Preview 1.21.70.20	Cows that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.
	Preview 1.21.70.22	Chickens that spawn in windswept hills are now the cold variant.
1.21.90	Preview 1.21.90.26	Added coolish color grading and cold lighting to windswept hills with Vibrant Visuals.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU5	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added Extreme Hills biome.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3	1.0.1	Added Extreme Hills variant biomes.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added extreme hills.

Issues

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

Gallery

Screenshots

Windswept hills
A windswept hills single biome world

Historical screenshots

An extremely narrow windswept hills biome in early Caves & Cliffs development
Mountains with ray tracing
Another view of a mountains biome before Caves & Cliffs
An example of an overhang generated within mountains
A stacked mountains biome
Mountains and a wooded mountains shown side by side
Huge cliffside generated in mountains biome
A tree which generated under a cliff in a mountains biome
Heart-shaped hole in a mountains cliff
The Epic Cliffs (seed preset) discountinued in Pocket Edition.
Large chunk of floating mountains creating some sort of skybridge
A ruined portal in a mountains biome
Mountains next to a lake
A mountains single biome world before 1.18
An extreme hills biome before The Update that Changed the World

Development images

The old look of the extreme hills biome
Yet another example
First screenshot of spruce trees generating in the biome

External links

"Around the Block: Windswept Hills" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, December 9, 2021.

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

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

[note 1]

[note 1]