Black Sand Beaches
A new beach variant inspired by real life black sand beaches (specifically Iceland's now deceased Reynisfjara), could be a fitting and cool addition to Minecraft's brimming ecosystem.
Black sand beaches consist of swathes of black sand and tuff; they are surrounded by columns of basalt which occasionally have moss carpet covering the top. They spawn rarely, bordering cold biomes such as taigas and dappled forests and are relatively small in size.
Any natural block can be planted on the black sand inside the biome and will grow slightly faster.
Black sand can be crafted into a sand block-set counterpart, alongside black sandstone being able to be smelted into obsidian. This parallels real black sand as it typically consists of small fragments of basalt and igneous rock.
Black sand has the property of absorbing much more heat (and subsequently being able to cause burns when walked on under direct sunlight). When in contact with lava or magma, adjacent black sand will heat up similarly and deal damage equal to the block in contact. This also breaks natural blocks on top of it.
Posted Aug 13, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC