Sand

Sand is a gravity-affected block found abundantly in deserts and beaches, and less commonly in or near surface water.

Red sand is a variation of sand found exclusively in the badlands.

Obtaining

Breaking

Sand can be broken without tools, but a shovel is the fastest method of obtaining it.

Natural generation

Sand generates naturally in many biomes of the Overworld, in disk-like formations near ponds and rivers. It generates in abundance in deserts and beaches, generally in four-block-deep layers, supported by sandstone below. Sand also generates as the ocean floor of lukewarm oceans, deep lukewarm oceans and warm oceans, in a single layer not supported by sandstone. It usually generates in quantities of 545 blocks per chunk on average in non-desert biomes.^[verify]

Sand is also used to cover up buried treasure chests depending on where the chest generates in. (In this case, sand is used to cover up buried treasure chests that generate in beaches and ocean floors that are composed of sand, but in some cases stone or sandstone might be used instead).

Sand also generates as part of warm ocean ruins, some desert village houses, desert wells, and desert pyramids.

Red sand generates naturally in badlands biomes and variants, always in a single layer. Unlike sand, there is no red sandstone that supports it below.

Both types of sand can spawn floating in the air. The floating cluster of sand falls when one of the sand blocks receives an update (e.g. when a block is placed near it or when a block near it is broken).

Post-generation

After brushing suspicious sand, the suspicious sand turns into regular sand.

Chest loot

Trading

Wandering traders sell 8 sand or 4 red sand for one emerald.‌

Renewability

The only renewable method of obtaining either type of sand is through the wandering trader. Due to its low spawning rate and limited number of trades per spawn, it is more practical to obtain it through other means.

However, there is a glitch that can be exploited to duplicate sand (as well as other gravity-affected blocks like concrete powder and gravel) that uses sticky pistons and an End Portal. This is the majority of players' preferred means of obtaining renewable sand.

Usage

If the supporting block below a block of sand is removed, it falls until it lands on the next available block. More specifically, the sand block turns into a "falling block" entity, which is affected by gravity; when the falling block lands on a block with a solid top surface, it becomes a block again. More information about the falling block entity is available in the main article listed above.

If falling sand lands and covers the head of a mob or the player, the mob or player buried in it continuously receives suffocation damage. If falling sand lands in the space occupied by a non-solid block (such as torch, rail, or redstone dust) or a block less than a full block tall (such as slab or soul sand^[1]), the sand drops and turns into an item. If it falls onto a cobweb, it falls slowly until it has gone through completely; if it touches the ground while still inside the cobweb, the sand becomes an item. Sand that falls onto a lifting bubble column floats on top of the water until the bubble column is blocked or removed.

Though TNT does not break any blocks if it explodes underwater, if sand, concrete powder (in one-block-deep water only), or gravel falls and covers the TNT before it explodes, blocks are broken as normal. This trick can be used to collect blocks underwater, or break into underwater structures such as the ocean monument without mining.

Crafting ingredient

Smelting ingredient

Construction

Sand can be used in the construction of airlocks and mob suffocation traps. Because sand falls, it can also be used for construction underwater while the player remains above the surface of the water.

Farms

Sand or red sand is required for farming cactus, and can also be used for farming bamboo, sugar cane and kelp.

Hatching

A turtle egg can hatch only if it's on sand or red sand.

Note Blocks

Sand and red sand can be placed under note blocks to produce "snare drum" sound.

Sounds

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Block states

In Bedrock Edition, sand uses the following block states:

Bedrock Edition:

Falling block entity

History

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Sand" or "Red Sand" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• If a block of sand has snow on it and is made to fall, the snow is destroyed‌^{[Java Edition only]} and does not drop snowballs.
• Because falling sand is considered an entity, it can be launched in a TNT cannon, similar to an ignited piece of TNT.
• Sand falls at the same rate when submerged in water, or lava, or air.
• If a player is standing on a stack of sand or gravel, and the stack falls onto a non-solid block, the player can fall fast enough to take damage or even die.
• Sand falls through torches without breaking, if there is air below the torch.^[5]
• Sand and gravel take about 0.45 seconds to fall one meter.
• The sand texture is rotated if a block of sand turns into a falling_block entity, similar to ignited TNT blocks. This is not the case with gravel.
• Because falling_block is considered an entity, blocks of sand without supports may disappear for a split second and a falling_block entity is summoned. This is also the case when it is landing, but the entity (not the block) disappears instead before a block is placed.

Gallery

• 
  Naturally generated sand in a desert.
• 
  Naturally generated sand in a beach.
• 
  Sand as generated as a warm ocean floor.
• 
  Naturally generated sand in a snowy beach.
• 
  Naturally generated sand in a lukewarm ocean.
• 
  Naturally generated sand in a warm ocean.
• 
  Naturally generated red sand in a badlands biome.
• 
  Floating sand in desert biome before updating it...
• 
  ... and after updating it.
• 
  A single floating sand block.
• 
  Another example of floating sand, this time above small water lake.
• 
  A lot of sand floating above a cave enterance.
• 
  A large amount of floating sand in desert, the torches were placed by a player.
• 
  A large amount of sand floating above a cave and being broken.
• 
  A large quantity of sand floating over a ravine.
• 
  2 blocks of sand floating with nothing below them.
• 
  Sand floating above a desert cave entrance.
• 
  A block of sand.

Java Edition

• 
  Sand in a buffet-type beach.
• 
  Sand in a buffet-type snowy beach.

See also

• Explained physics of falling blocks.
• Desert
• Sandstone

References

External links

• Block of the Week: Sand – Minecraft.net on March 11, 2017