Gravel

| Renewable |
Yes |
|---|---|
| Stackable |
Yes (64) |
| Tool | |
| Blast resistance |
0.6 |
| Hardness |
0.6 |
| Luminous |
No |
| Transparent |
No |
| Flammable |
No |
| Catches fire from lava |
No |
| Map color (JE) |
|
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"title": "Gravel",
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"label": "Tool"
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{
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"label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
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{
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"label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
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{
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"label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminous)"
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"field": "No",
"label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
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{
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"label": "(link to Flammable article, displayed as Flammable)"
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"label": "(link to Map color article, displayed as Map color) <small>((link to Java Edition article, displayed as ''JE''))</small>"
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"Gravel"
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"images": [
"Gravel.png"
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}
Gravel is a gravity-affected block found in the Overworld and the Nether. It is a source of flint, which has a chance to drop when gravel is broken.
Obtaining
Breaking
The suitable tool to break gravel is shovel.
| Block | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 0.6 | |
| Tool | ||
| Breaking time (sec)[A] | ||
| Default | 0.9 | |
| 0.45 | ||
| 0.25 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.15 | ||
| 0.15 | ||
| 0.1 | ||
| 0.1 | ||
- incorrect tool, drops nothing
- correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
- correct tool, drops the block itself
- italicized can be instant mined
- ↑ These durations ignore other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.
When destroyed using a tool without Silk Touch, gravel has a 10% chance to drop flint if this tool isn't enchanted with Fortune; It has a 14.2857……% (1⁄7) to drop flint if the tool is enchanted with Fortune I, 25% for Fortune II, and 100% for Fortune III. If the flint is not dropped, gravel drops itself instead. [1][2]
Gravel drops itself when destroyed using a tool with Silk Touch.
Natural generation
Gravel is generated in disks in rivers, shallow oceans and small pools of water; in windswept gravelly hills biomes covering most of the surface; underwater covering the bottom of sufficiently deep rivers and normal, cold, and frozen ocean biomes, as well as their deep variants; and in the form of strips in stony shores.
Gravel can generate in the Overworld in the form of ore features. Gravel attempts to generate 14 times per chunk in ore features of size 0-160, at all levels and in all biomes. It can replace stone, granite, andesite, diorite, polished granite[BE only], polished andesite[BE only], polished diorite[BE only], tuff[JE only], and deepslate[JE only].
Gravel can also generate as part of cold ocean ruins, some warm ocean ruins, and in trail ruins.
In the Nether, gravel generates naturally in layers along the shores of the lava sea, in all biomes except crimson and warped forests. The layers are one block deep in Nether wastes, and 3-5 blocks deep in soul sand valley and basalt deltas.
Ore features of gravel in the Nether attempt to replace netherrack 2 times per chunk in blobs of size 0-160, from levels 5 to 41[JE only] or 36[BE only], in all Nether biomes except basalt deltas.
Mob loot
An enderman holding gravel always drops the block upon death.
Bartering
Piglins may barter 8-16 gravel when given a gold ingot.
Usage
Falling Block
If the supporting block below a block of gravel is removed, it falls until it lands on the next available block. More specifically, the gravel 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.
When gravel falls on a player or mob, it can result in suffocation inside gravel until the destruction of the block, or moving out of it, or dying. If falling gravel lands in a space occupied by a non-solid block (such as torches, rails, or redstone dust) or non-full block (such as slabs or soul sand[3]), it breaks, then drops itself and never drops flint.[4][5]
Gravel can be placed on a non-solid block without falling.
Bamboo
Bamboo can be placed and grown on gravel.
Crafting ingredient
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coarse Dirt | Dirt + Gravel |
||
| Concrete Powder | Matching Dye + Sand + Gravel |
Red sand cannot be used in place of sand. | |
| White Concrete Powder or Blue Concrete Powder or Brown Concrete Powder or Black Concrete Powder |
Bone Meal or Lapis Lazuli or Cocoa Beans or Ink Sac + Sand + Gravel |
[Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education only] |
Trading
| Villager | Probability | Villager wants | Player receives | Trades in stock | Villager experience | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE | BE | ||||||
| 67% | 50% | 10 × + | 10 × | 12 | 1 | ||
Note blocks
Gravel can be placed under note blocks to produce snare drum sounds.
Sounds
gravel sound type | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block placed | Blocks | When the block is placed | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | block | subtitles | 0.25 | 0.5 | 16 | |
| Something falls on a block | Entity-Dependent | Falling on the block with fall damage | block | subtitles | 0.5 | 0.75 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Entity-Dependent | Walking on the block | block | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 | |
gravel sound type | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
| Blocks | Once the block has broken | dig | 1.0 | 0.8-1.0 | |
| Blocks | When the block is placed | dig | 1.0 | 0.8-1.0 | |
| Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | hit | 0.17 | 0.5 | |
| Players | Falling on the block with fall damage | fall | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Players | Walking on the block | step | 0.3 | 1.0 | |
| Blocks | Jumping from the block | jump | 0.1 | 1.0 | |
| Blocks | Falling on the block without fall damage | land | 0.17 | 1.0 | |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Block tags | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
gravel | Block & Item | bamboo_plantable_onenderman_holdablelush_ground_replaceablemineable/shovel | block |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gravel | 13 | Block & Giveable Item[i 2] | Identical[i 3] | tile |
Falling block entity



_JE1_BE1.png)
.png)


_JE3.png)

_JE1_BE1.png)
.png)
_JE3_BE3.png)
_JE1_BE1.png)
| Hitbox size |
Height: 0.98 blocks |
|---|
{
"title": "Falling Block",
"rows": [
{
"field": "Height: 0.98 blocks<br>Width: 0.98 blocks",
"label": "(link to Hitbox article, displayed as Hitbox size)"
}
],
"invimages": [],
"images": []
}
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Dynamic block entity data
- Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] BlockState: The falling block represented by this entity.
- [String] Name: The resource location of the block.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Properties: Optional. The block states of the block.
- [String] Name: The block state name and its value.
- [Byte] CancelDrop: 1 or 0 (true/false) - true if the block should be destroyed instead of placed after landing on a solid block. When true, the block is not dropped as an item, even if the
DropItemtag is set to true. However, if the entity is deleted due to itsTimevalue being too high, this tag is ignored and an item is dropped depending on theDropItemtag.CancelDropdefaults to 1 for falling suspicious sand and suspicious gravel, and 0 for the other vanilla falling blocks and any summoned falling block. - [Byte] DropItem: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the block should drop as an item when it breaks. Any block that does not have an item form with the same ID as the block does not drop even if this is set.
- [Float] FallHurtAmount: Multiplied by the
FallDistanceto calculate the amount of damage to inflict. By default this value is 2HP for anvils, and 6HP for pointed dripstone. - [Int] FallHurtMax: The maximum hit points of damage to inflict on entities that intersect this falling block. For vanilla falling blocks, always 40HP × 20.
- [Byte] HurtEntities: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the block should hurt entities it falls on. Defaults to 1 for anvils and pointed dripstone and to 0 for the other vanilla falling blocks and any summoned falling block.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] TileEntityData: Optional. The tags of the block entity for this block.
- [Int] Time: The number of ticks the entity has existed. When
Timegoes above 600, or above 100 while the block is at Y=-64 or is outside building height, the entity is deleted.
History
Development
| May 21, 2009 | Notch shows interest in adding gravel. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2009 | Notch says he accomplished adding sand. This claim may also extend to gravel. | ||||||
Java Edition
| Java Edition Classic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.14a | |||||||
| Gravel behaves similarly to sand, which was also added during this update. | |||||||
| Rather than falling by turning into a falling block entity, gravel instantly appears at the lowest point it can go when placed above an air block, without any sort of falling animation. This behavior that lasted until the Seecret Friday 1 update, in Infdev. | |||||||
| Map editors can now be used to create floating gravel, although the server crashes if the gravel is affected from its state. | |||||||
| 0.0.15a (Multiplayer Test 1) | |||||||
| 0.0.23a | A glitch occurring at this time allows players to raise the height of a fluid block by placing gravel over it. The gravel stays suspended in mid-air until it is broken. When broken, a fluid block corresponding to the type below the gravel appears where the block was. The suspended fluid block remains immobile until a block was placed next to it, causing a flood. | ||||||
| Java Edition Indev | |||||||
| 0.31 | 20100124-2119 | Gravel now generates in indev house chests. | |||||
| 20100129-1447 | Gravel no longer generates in indev house chests. | ||||||
| 20100219 | Gravel now has a 10% chance of dropping flint. | ||||||
| Java Edition Infdev | |||||||
| 20100227-1414 | Gravel has been removed during map tests.[6] | ||||||
| 20100413-1949 | Gravel has been re-added. | ||||||
| 20100617-1531 | Gravel now generates as ore features underground, along with dirt, for more varied caves. | ||||||
| 20100618 | The gravel now turns into an entity while falling, which makes them fall more smoothly and realistically. | ||||||
| Java Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v1.2.0_01 | Some soul sand is replaced by gravel in the Nether. | ||||||
| Java Edition Beta | |||||||
| 1.2 | FallingSand entities now behave better in multiplayer. | ||||||
| 1.8 | Pre-release | Terrain generation has been changed, removing gravel beaches. | |||||
| Gravel now generates as disks near water. | |||||||
| Gravel now appears in villages as the only part of their generated paths. | |||||||
| Java Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5 | ||||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w21a | ||||||
| 12w22a | Gravel is now able to be used in the trading system: buying flint costs 1 emerald and 10 gravel. | ||||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w38a | Gravel now has new sounds when being walked on. | |||||
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Ocean floors are now made completely of gravel, instead of a mixture of dirt, sand and clay. | |||||
| Added extreme hills M, where the surface is covered in several-block-deep layers of gravel. | |||||||
| 1.8 | 14w25a | Gravel can now be used to craft coarse dirt. | |||||
| 1.10 | 16w20a | Falling dust particles for unsupported gravel have been added. | |||||
| 1.12 | 17w06a | Gravel is now used to craft concrete powder. | |||||
| 1.13 | 18w09a | Gravel now generates in ocean ruins. | |||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | ||||||
| 18w50a | Gravel no longer generates as a village path in any type of village.[7] | ||||||
| 19w14a | Soul sand and gravel now generate around lava sea level instead of between y level 60 and 65.[8] | ||||||
| 1.16 | 20w07a | Gravel now has a 5⁄109 (~4.59%) chance of being given by the new piglins when bartering, in a stack size of 4–12, making it renewable. | |||||
| 20w09a | Gravel now has a 10⁄113 (~8.82%) chance of being given by piglins when bartering, in a stack size of 1–5. | ||||||
| 1.16 | 20w20a | Gravel now has a 40⁄423 (~9.46%) chance of being given by piglins when bartering, in a stack size of 8–16. | |||||
| 1.16.2 | 20w28a | Gravel now has a 40⁄459 (~8.71%) chance of being given by piglins when bartering, in a stack size of 8–16. | |||||
| 1.17 | 21w06a | The height limit was expanded down to Y=-64. Gravel blobs are temporary generating from Y=-64 instead of Y=0. | |||||
| 21w07a | Gravel ore features no longer generate below Y=0, but more common than in pre 21w06a versions. | ||||||
| 21w15a | All the changes to gravel blob generation in the previous 1.17 snapshots have been reverted, but they can be re-enabled with the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack. | ||||||
| 1.18 | Experimental Snapshot 1 | Gravel blob once again generates the way it did in the 1.17 snapshots without the use of a data pack. | |||||
| experimental snapshot 4 | Strips of gravel sometimes generate in stone shores and stony peaks. | ||||||
| 21w37a | Strips of Gravel no longer generate in stony peaks. | ||||||
| Strips of Gravel in stone shores are now larger. | |||||||
| 21w40a | Blobs of gravel are once again able to generate below Y=0. | ||||||
| Increased the number of gravel blobs. | |||||||
| 1.20 | 23w12a | Gravel can now be created after brushing a suspicious gravel block. | |||||
| Gravel now generates in trail ruins. | |||||||
| 23w16a | The amount of gravel in trail ruins has been tweaked. | ||||||
Bedrock Edition
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-release | |||||||
| v0.1.0 | |||||||
| v0.2.0 | |||||||
| Gravel is now obtainable in both Survival and Creative mode. | |||||||
| v0.4.0 | |||||||
| v0.5.0 | |||||||
| v0.6.0 | |||||||
| Gravel is now affected by gravity. | |||||||
| v0.8.0 | build 1 | ||||||
| The inventory icon of gravel is now rendered block instead of texture. | |||||||
| build 8 | Falling gravel now drops a resource when landing on a non-solid block. | ||||||
| v0.9.0 | build 1 | Terrain generation has been changed, removing gravel beaches. | |||||
| Gravel now generates as disks in or near water, and also completely comprises ocean floors. | |||||||
| Gravel no longer falls when generated. | |||||||
| Gravel now appears in villages. | |||||||
| v0.10.0 | build 1 | Falling dust particles for unsupported gravel have been added. | |||||
| v0.11.0 | build 1 | Gravel no longer generates as a village path. | |||||
| Added the gravelly mountains biome (then known as mutated extreme hills), where the surface is covered in several-block-deep layers of gravel. | |||||||
| v0.12.1 | build 1 | Gravel now generates in the Nether. | |||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.4 | alpha 1.0.4.0 | 10 gravel can now be used to trade with fletcher villagers for 6-10 flint. | |||||
| 1.1.0 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | Gravel is now used to craft concrete powder. | |||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Gravel can now be used to craft coarse dirt. | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.20.1 | Gravel now generates in ocean ruins. | |||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | ||||||
| 1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.4 | Trading has been changed, fletcher villagers now have a 50% chance to buy 10 gravel and one emerald for 10 flint as part of their first tier trade. | |||||
| 1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.57 | Gravel now has a 10⁄106 (9.43%) chance of being given by piglins when bartering, in a stack size of 8–16, making it renewable. | |||||
| Gravel now generates below lava sea layer in the Nether. | |||||||
| 1.18.0 | beta 1.18.0.21 | Gravel now generates as expected. | |||||
| Blobs of gravel are now expected to be once again able to generate below Y=0., but they don't. | |||||||
| Increased the number of gravel blobs. | |||||||
| beta 1.18.0.24 | Gravel ore features are now able to generate below Y=0.[9] | ||||||
Legacy Console Edition
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | |
| TU3 | |||||||
| TU9 | |||||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Gravel is now able to be used in the trading system: buying flint costs 1 emerald and 10 gravel. | |||||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Gravel can now be used to craft coarse dirt. | |
| TU46 | CU36 | 1.38 | 1.38 | 1.38 | Patch 15 | Falling dust particles for unsupported gravel have been added. | |
| TU53 | CU43 | 1.49 | 1.50 | 1.49 | Patch 23 | 1.0.3 | Gravel is now used to craft concrete powder. |
| TU69 | 1.76 | 1.76 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Gravel now generates in ocean ruins. | ||
| 1.90 | |||||||
| 1.91 | Trading has been changed, fletcher villagers now have a chance to buy 10 gravel and one emerald for 10 flint as part of their first tier trade. | ||||||
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1.0 | |||||||
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 | 14w06a | Gravel now uses the newly-implemented model json file models/block/cube.json; previously the geometry was defined in the game code itself. | |||||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 13. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Gravel" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Trivia
- Explosions launch falling gravel.
- If a player stands 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.
- Gravel often falls into caves, making a mock dead end. If a player encounters a gravel dead-end while mining, removing the gravel may reveal additional passageways.
Gallery
Screenshots
-
A naturally generated gravel blob as seen in a cave. -
A naturally generated gravel floor as seen in an ocean. -
A gravel blob as seen in the Nether. -
Gravel shown to be not affected by gravity if there is a non-solid block (except fire) underneath it. -
Gravel floating in midair in a windswept gravelly hills biome. -
Naturally generated gravel blob in a cave. -
Gravel hanging above the lava sea, without any support below. Viewed in Spectator mode. -
A disk of gravel by a shoreline that extends partially onto land. -
A strip of gravel in a stony shore biome. -
A gravel beach prior to Java Edition Beta 1.8. -
Gravel being drawn as sand on a map in Java Edition Beta 1.7.3. -
Gravel in early versions of Pocket Edition shown to be not affected by gravity.
References
- ↑ MC-94860 — Fortune 3 shovel does not drop gravel — resolved as "Duplicate".
- ↑ MCPE-44744 — Fortune 3 in a pickaxe on gravel only drops flint — resolved as "Works As Intended".
- ↑ MC-77079 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
- ↑ MC-118095 — Dropping gravel on a torch never yields flint
- ↑ MCPE-120366 — Gravel never drops flint when falling on a non-solid block. (such as a torch)
- ↑ "Minecraft InfDev. Huge Temple Of Brick!" – DRMB on YouTube, February 27, 2010
- ↑ MC-147895
- ↑ "[MC-152207] Almost no naturally generating soul sand in nether wastes; changed soul sand generation after 1.13.2 - Jira" – Mojira, May 18, 2019.
- ↑ "[MCPE-144080] Gravel doesn't generate below Y=0 - Jira" – Mojira, October 8, 2021.
External links
- Block of the Week: Gravel – Minecraft.net on March 23, 2018
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