Updated for Java Edition 26.3 (October 2026).
The savanna is a hot, dry Overworld grassland of yellow-green grass and flat-topped acacia trees. It never rains there. It is common: in our sample of 300 Java 26.3 seeds, it covered 4% of the surface and sat within 1,000 blocks of spawn in about half of all worlds. Come for horses, armadillos, acacia wood and savanna villages.
| Dimension | Overworld |
|---|---|
| Where it generates | Hot, dry lowland, usually bordering rivers, plains, forest and savanna plateau |
| How common | 4% of the surface in our sample (about 1 block in 25) |
| Distance from spawn | Median 912 blocks; within 1,000 blocks in 54% of seeds, within 2,000 in 84% (our sample) |
| Mobs | Horses, donkeys, armadillos, sheep, pigs, cows and chickens; at night the usual hostile mobs plus zombie horses with riders |
| Notable blocks | Acacia trees with a few oaks, tall grass, fallen oak trees |
| Structures | Savanna villages, pillager outposts, ruined portals, abandoned camps (26.3) |
| Climate | Temperature 2.0; it never rains or snows |
| Biome ID | minecraft:savanna |
| Added in | Java Edition 1.7 (The Update that Changed the World, 2013) |
Savanna vs savanna plateau vs windswept savanna
There are three savanna biomes in Java 26.3. They share the acacia trees, the dry grass and the weather. The plain savanna is the low, common one and the only one with villages; the other two are raised or broken-up versions of it with fewer structures.
| Feature | Savanna | Savanna plateau | Windswept savanna |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terrain | Low, flat or gently rolling | Raised, flat-topped ground | Steep, jagged hills and overhangs |
| Weather | Same: never rains or snows | ||
| Horses, donkeys, armadillos | All three | ||
| Wolves and llamas | No | Yes (spotted wolves) | No |
| Villages | Yes | No | No |
| Pillager outposts | Yes | No | No |
| Abandoned camps (26.3) | Yes | No | No |
| How common (our sample) | 4% of the surface | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Median distance from spawn (our sample) | 912 blocks | 1,644 blocks | 1,586 blocks |
In our sample of 300 Java 26.3 seeds, the regular savanna covered about 20 times the area of either of the other two. So if you want a savanna village, stay on the low ground; if you want a spotted wolf or a llama, climb onto a plateau. The old “shattered savanna” and “shattered savanna plateau” no longer exist: Java 1.18 merged them into the windswept savanna.
How to find a savanna
Walk toward the warm side of the map. In our sample, a savanna’s edge touched a river 44% of the time, plains 14%, forest 10%, and savanna plateau and beach about 9% each. Plains are the best sign: when the grass of a plains turns dull yellow-green and the trees flatten into umbrella shapes, you have crossed into savanna.
These three Java 26.3 seeds put a savanna a short walk from spawn. Each coordinate is inside the biome, checked at block level.
| Seed | Savanna at | From spawn | Map |
|---|---|---|---|
4711785765194039058 |
X -158, Z -174 | 235 blocks | Open on the map |
-7958239334195927214 |
X 82, Z -82 | 116 blocks | Open on the map |
-2785576450807508060 |
X 226, Z 66 | 175 blocks | Open on the map |
In a world you already have, type /locate biome minecraft:savanna (cheats on) for the nearest one, or paste your seed into the biome finder. For a village directly, /locate structure minecraft:village_savanna works too. These are Java seeds; the same number on Bedrock gives a different world.
Mobs in the savanna
Horses and donkeys
Horses spawn in herds of two to six, donkeys one at a time. To tame one, mount it with an empty hand until hearts appear, then put a saddle on it. A horse is the fastest way across the open ground; a donkey is slower but carries a chest.
Armadillos
Armadillos spawn here in groups of two or three. They curl up when something threatens them. Brush one to get a scute; six scutes craft wolf armor, and the nearest wolves are usually on a savanna plateau.
Zombie horses
Since Java 1.21.11, zombie horses spawn at night in savanna and plains biomes, carrying a zombie that holds an iron spear. The horse itself is not hostile; the rider is. Kill the zombie and you can tame the zombie horse like a normal horse, heal it with red mushrooms, and put horse armor on it, which also stops it burning in sunlight.
Farm animals
Sheep, pigs, cows and chickens spawn here as well. Since Java 1.21.5 the pigs, cows and chickens are the warm variants, warm chickens lay brown eggs, and sheep are most often brown.
Savanna villages and other structures
Savanna villages are built from acacia wood, so they stand out in orange against the grass. Like any village, they give you beds, crops and villagers to trade with on day one. Pillager outposts can generate in savannas too, and on flat land you can usually see one from a long way off. Since Java 26.3, abandoned camps with a savanna design can also generate here. Ruined portals are the other surface structure you may find.
Acacia wood and building
Acacia logs have gray bark and make orange planks, a color no other wood gives you. Acacia is the main tree here, with a few oaks mixed in, and since Java 1.21.5 some oaks lie on the ground as fallen trees, which are quicker to chop. Because it never rains, there are no lightning strikes to set a wooden base on fire.
What changed in 2025-26
In Wilderness Bound (Java 26.3, September 2026), abandoned camps can generate in savannas, with a savanna design. The savanna plateau and windswept savanna are not on the list.
In Mounts of Mayhem (Java 1.21.11, December 2025), zombie horses started spawning naturally in savanna and plains biomes, with a zombie rider holding an iron spear.
In Spring to Life (Java 1.21.5, March 2025), pigs, cows and chickens that spawn here are the warm variants, and warm chickens lay brown eggs. Sheep spawn with warm-biome wool colors, so brown is the most common. Fallen oak trees now generate on the ground, some covered in mushrooms or vines.
Source: the official 26.3, 1.21.11 and 1.21.5 release notes.
How we measured
The numbers on this page come from our own seed map engine, running Java Edition 26.3 world generation. We generated 300 random seeds and sampled every 16th block across a 10,240 by 10,240 block square centered on each world’s spawn. “How common” is the savanna’s share of those samples; “distance from spawn” is how far the nearest savanna sample was. The seeds above were picked from the same run, and each coordinate was re-checked at block level.
