Lava — Minecraft block

Lava

Lava is a molten fluid (light level 15) collected with a bucket — the best furnace fuel and the source of obsidian.

Block ID minecraft:lava
Mod Vanilla
Game versions
1.21

Description

Lava is a glowing molten fluid in Minecraft that emits a light level of 15 and sets nearby flammable blocks on fire. It generates naturally in underground lava lakes and seas below y=0 (most common around y=-54), in small surface lava pools, and across the vast lava oceans of the Nether. You collect a lava source block with an empty bucket to get a lava bucket, the most efficient furnace fuel in the game, smelting up to 100 items per bucket. Lava spreads three blocks horizontally in the Overworld but seven blocks in the Nether, where it also flows faster. Pouring a water source onto a lava source turns it into obsidian, the block used to build a Nether portal frame, while flowing water over flowing lava creates cobblestone or stone. Since Minecraft 1.17, lava is renewable: place a cauldron under a pointed dripstone (Pointed Dripstone) with a lava source above it and the cauldron slowly fills with lava. Touching lava deals heavy damage and ignites the player, but Striders, Magma Cubes, Zombified Piglins, Ghasts and Blazes are immune.

Java & Bedrock Guide

How to get and use Lava in Minecraft

  1. 1

    Find a lava source

    Explore caves below y=0, where lava is most common around y=-54, or go to the Nether to find huge lava oceans.

  2. 2

    Collect it with a bucket

    Use an empty bucket on a lava source block to fill it as a lava bucket; you cannot scoop up flowing lava.

  3. 3

    Burn it as furnace fuel

    Put the lava bucket in a furnace fuel slot to smelt up to 100 items, more than any other single fuel.

  4. 4

    Make obsidian

    Pour a water source over a stationary lava source block to harden it into obsidian for a Nether portal frame.

Renewable since 1.17

Place a cauldron under a pointed dripstone with a lava source above it; the cauldron slowly fills with renewable lava.

Used in crafts

  • Lava Bucket

Related blocks

Frequently asked questions

Is lava renewable in Minecraft?

Yes. Since version 1.17, a cauldron under a pointed dripstone with a lava source on top slowly fills with renewable lava.

How do you collect lava?

Use an empty bucket on a lava source block to pick it up as a lava bucket; you cannot collect flowing lava.

Is a lava bucket good furnace fuel?

Yes, it is the most efficient single fuel, smelting up to 100 items before the empty bucket is returned.

How do you make obsidian with lava?

Let a water source flow onto a stationary lava source block and it hardens into obsidian.

How far does lava spread?

Lava flows three blocks horizontally in the Overworld and seven blocks in the Nether, where it also moves faster.

Which mobs are immune to lava?

Striders, Magma Cubes, Zombified Piglins, Ghasts and Blazes take no damage from lava.

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