What Is Surface Level in the Nether

A view of a crimson forest with a hoglin and a ghast in the background.

The Nether is a dangerous dimension containing fire, lava, fungus-based vegetation, many hostile mobs, and exclusive structures.

1 Accessing
2 Traits
3 Environment
- 3.1 Biomes
- 3.2 Generated structures
- 3.3 Terrain features
- 3.4 Mobs
- 3.5 Blocks
  - 3.5.1 Naturally generated
  - 3.5.2 Naturally created
  - 3.5.3 Structures
4 Technical information
- 4.1 ID
- 4.2 Folder
5 Achievements
6 Advancements
7 History
8 Issues
9 Trivia
10 Gallery
11 References

Accessing [ ]

"Low budget" portal without corners (left), full portal (right)

To access the Nether, the player must construct a nether portal in the Overworld (portals created in the End do not activate). To create the portal, the player must first build a rectangular obsidian frame, ranging in size from a minimum of 4×5 to a maximum of 23×23. Once the frame is built, it can then be activated by placing fire within the frame, using flint and steel, fire charge, dispensers or any material that is capable of igniting fire.

The portal allows most entities (with the exception of the wither, the ender dragon, and entities riding or being ridden by another entity) to be transported to a corresponding portal in the Nether. In Survival, the player must stand in a nether portal for 4 seconds to get to the Nether. The player can step out of a portal before it completes its animation to abort the teleport. The portal generates a sound effect while the player is inside it. If there is no corresponding portal, a new 4×5 portal is created. The portal can be destroyed by breaking the obsidian frame, by a nearby explosion, or by placing water in the Overworld or lava into it with a bucket or dispenser. Any of the blocks in the corners can be destroyed without destroying the portal.

In the Old‌^{[ Bedrock Edition only ]} world type, it is impossible to construct a nether portal. The portal block must be placed using cheats. When done, the Nether has the same 256×256 borders as the Overworld, and if a nether portal is then made in the Nether, it can spawn the player outside the world barrier.

Traits [ ]

Bedrock comprises the top (below layer 127) and bottom 4 layers in a rough pattern, essentially making the Nether 127 blocks high unlike the Overworld's 256. In the infinite worlds of the Java and Bedrock Editions, the Nether is also horizontally infinite. In Bedrock Edition, the build limit in the Nether is 128 blocks, despite it being 256 in all other dimensions.

The Nether has no daylight cycle and no weather. Natural sources of light include fire, lava, portals, shroomlights and glowstone. Even with a light level of 0, the Nether has a dim ambient light (roughly equivalent to light level 8 in the Overworld). Light otherwise functions exactly the same as it does in the Overworld and the End.

The majority of flora in the Nether is fungus-based as opposed to plants. The Nether "grass" consists of specialized Nether mycelium (known as "nylium"). The Nether features its own unique fungi (including nether wart), as well as equivalent huge fungi which serve as trees. The stems of the huge fungi function as logs. Also present are a number of native vines and roots.

Most creatures found in the Nether are hostile and potentially dangerous.

Locations in the Nether correlate to Overworld coordinates, but horizontal Overworld distances are scaled down by a ratio of 8:1 for travel in the Nether. Therefore, traveling one block in the Nether means traveling eight blocks in the Overworld. For example, in a perfect scenario, a player who enters a portal in the Overworld at x=0, z=0 and travels in the Nether to x=1000, z=1000 returns to the Overworld at x=8000, z=8000. This makes portals a useful tool for traveling long distances in the Overworld.

An image of the Nether with a nether fortress.

Most items and blocks in the Nether function the same as they do in the Overworld, with a few notable exceptions:

Beds explode and cause fires when a player attempts to sleep in one. It has an explosion power of 5. The explosion is larger than that of TNT, which has an explosion power of 4. They cannot be used as a respawn point.
One has to use a powered respawn anchor to respawn in the Nether, but when it runs out of charges, the player once again respawns in the Overworld.
There is no way to place liquid water in the Nether without the use of commands, except inside a cauldron. These can be used to put out a player on fire, but are difficult to center oneself in.
- Using water buckets produces steam particles and a hissing sound, leaving the player with an empty bucket.
- Ice that is melted or smashed in the Nether does not produce water.
- A wet sponge instantly becomes a regular sponge when placed.
- If somehow placed using cheats or when placed inside a cauldron, water takes on a reddish-brown color.‌^{[ Bedrock Edition only ]}
Lava flows twice as far (eight blocks) and six times as fast in the Nether compared to Overworld, basically water's equivalent flow characteristics from the Overworld.
Grass blocks and leaves take a dead-looking brownish color because the Nether is dry and hot.
Maps generate a brown-gray static pattern. The player's direction indicator spins randomly; its location is still relative to the player's location in the Nether, except in the New Nintendo 3DS Edition, where it is always in the center of the map. Usable significantly for lava ocean travel via strider. Putting the map in the off-hand minimizes the map to help see one's strider footing.
Clocks spin wildly, making it impossible to tell the time while in the Nether. Compasses also spin wildly unless connected to a lodestone, which they then point toward.
Snow golems rapidly take fire damage and die, due to the Nether being dry and hot. However, they can survive if they have the Fire Resistance status effect.‌^{[ Java Edition only ]}

Environment [ ]

The Nether features unique cave-like terrain with no sky. Lava and fire are common hazards everywhere in the Nether. Areas distant from the player are shrouded in fog. Unlike the Overworld, the shape of the terrain in the Nether is independent of the biome distribution; instead, the biome alters the surface material and adds terrain features to the netherrack terrain.

Biomes [ ]

The Nether is divided into several biomes just like the Overworld, each featuring unique terrain, mobs, structures, ambience, etc. There are currently five biomes in the Nether.

Biome Name	Description	Image
Nether Wastes	Initially the sole biome in the dimension before the Nether Update, the nether wastes is the most common biome in the Nether. The surface is composed of uncovered netherrack, exposing more blobs than any other biome. Zombified piglins dominate this biome, and can be found in hordes of up to 4.
Crimson Forest	The biome is named for its red color, and is covered by the canopies of huge, tree-like fungi. Huge, pig-like animals called hoglins roam around the nylium-covered terrain, whilst tribes of piglins hunt them for food. This makes it one of the only biomes to have an ecosystem. While not as numerous as in the nether wastes, the occasional zombified piglin also roams, and if near normal piglins, it will scare them away. It is also one of the more habitable biomes in the Nether, due to hoglins being a source of food in the dimension, and despite being a hostile mob, it can be bred, making it perfect for farms in the dimension.
Warped Forest	This forest-type biome has the most amount of flora in the Nether dimension (due to the additional nether sprouts that are only found within the biome) but also only has two mobs, those being the endermen and the occasional strider. The amount of endermen here makes the biome an ideal place to collect ender pearls before the player has access to the End dimension. The very low diversity of mobs here makes it another habitable place in the Nether, since no mobs spawned here are naturally hostile to the player.
Soul Sand Valley	This desert-like biome is dangerous, not just because of the huge caverns and darkness that can allow numbers of ghasts and skeletons to spawn, but also due to the deposits of soul sand which slow the player down. Boots enchanted with Soul Speed allow the player to avoid the slowing effect of soul sand. Bluish-colored soul fire is common here and are more dangerous than regular fires. Because of the huge amount of fossils here, the soul sand valley might have once been a habitable paradise full of huge, bygone creatures. It is unknown why they went extinct, but most likely a drought (which explains why the biome is dry) or a volcanic eruption from the basalt deltas were the culprits. The only vegetation surviving today are crimson roots and mushrooms, whilst the only mobs left are skeletons, ghasts and endermen, as well as striders that spawn over the lava ocean.
Basalt Deltas	With high amounts of lava and magma cubes, this is one of the most dangerous biomes in the game. The terrain consists of steep and spiky basalt formations along with the flatter deltas. When the biome collides with a lava sea, archipelagos of basalt and gravel form. The biome is almost impossible to build in, which might explain why bastion remnants don't generate here (unless a bastion remnant generates in a bordering biome). Even though the magma cubes here are dangerous, their spawning rate makes the biome ideal for collecting magma cream, which can be used for brewing Fire Resistance potions. Blackstone also generates more commonly here than in other Nether biomes, making the basalt deltas ideal for making stone tools.

Generated structures [ ]

The Nether contains a variety of unique generated structures. Though equally vast, it contains far fewer types of generated structures than the Overworld.

Name	Description	Image
Nether Fortress	Nether fortresses are large, castle-like structures that are composed of nether bricks. This structure is often found bridging over lava seas, or tunnelling through netherrack. This structure is the only place blazes and wither skeletons spawn, making fortresses the gateway to both bosses in the game: the ender dragon and the wither. Fortresses also contain blaze spawners, as well as small nether wart farms where nether wart can be obtained. Nether fortresses can be found in all Nether biomes.
Nether Fossil	Nether fossils are structures comprised of bone blocks. These structures have 14 different designs. Unlike fossils in the Overworld, coal ore does not generate within these fossils. This structure generates exclusively within soul sand valley biomes.
Bastion Remnant	Bastion remnants are large fortifications made up of blackstone, blackstone bricks and basalt. A large amount of gold blocks and loot chests can be found within these structures. They generate in four distinct variants, each with its own unique structure and loot. These structures are inhabited by the piglins and piglin brutes, and in certain variants hoglins as well. These structures generate within any Nether biome except for the basalt deltas.
Ruined Portal	A structure containing what appears to be a destroyed nether portal and various types of stone or blackstone materials, when generating in the Overworld or the Nether, respectively. Netherrack generates on the ground around the portal, and a chest containing loot generates with the structure. These structures can be found in any Overworld and Nether biome.

Terrain features [ ]

The Nether has a lot of different terrain features which generate within the biomes of the Nether.

Name	Description	Image
Lava sea	Lava seas generate at and below level 31 in all Nether biomes. Striders can be found striding across these seas.
Glowstone blob	Glowstone blobs generate on the ceiling of the Nether in all biomes.
Basalt pillar	Basalt pillars generate in soul sand valley biomes and on the lava seas present there.
Delta	Deltas are sheets of constrained lava and magma blocks found among the terrain of basalt deltas biomes.
Hidden lava	Single blocks of lava are buried within netherrack in all Nether biomes. These are particularly dangerous when mining in the Nether, as the lava can quickly flow out and overwhelm the player when uncovered.

Mobs [ ]

The Nether is home to its own share of mobs, most of which are fire- and lava-proof. Skeletons, chickens, and endermen are the only Overworld mobs that can naturally spawn in the Nether; in Java Edition, baby zombified piglins may spawn as chicken jockeys.

Other Overworld mobs do not naturally spawn in the Nether but can be teleported through portals (with the exception of withers and ender dragons).


Blaze	Chicken Jockey ‌^{[ JE only ]}	Enderman	Ghast	Hoglin	Magma Cube


Piglin	Piglin Brute	Skeleton	Strider	Wither Skeleton	Zombified Piglin

Blocks [ ]

Naturally generated [ ]

Naturally generated blocks includes those that are created through the world seed.

Air
Ancient Debris
Basalt
Bedrock
Blackstone
Bone Block
Fire
Crimson Fungus
Warped Fungus
Glowstone
Gravel
Lava
Magma Block
Brown Mushroom
Red Mushroom
Nether Gold Ore
Nether Quartz Ore
Nether Sprouts
Netherrack
Crimson Nylium
Warped Nylium
Crimson Roots
Warped Roots
Shroomlight
Soul Fire
Soul Sand
Soul Soil
Crimson Stem
Warped Stem
Twisting Vines
Weeping Vines
Nether Wart Block
Warped Wart Block

Naturally created [ ]

Naturally created blocks are created through a combination of events that lead these blocks to be placed by natural causes, not by the player.

Air
Basalt
Bedrock
Lava
Nether Portal
Netherrack ‌^{[ BE only ]}
Obsidian

Structures [ ]

These blocks are generated as part of nether fortresses, bastion remnants, and ruined portals, but only when the "generated structures" option is on.

Air
Basalt
Polished Basalt
Blackstone
Blackstone Slab
Blackstone Stairs
Blackstone Wall
Gilded Blackstone
Polished Blackstone
Polished Blackstone Slab
Polished Blackstone Stairs
Polished Blackstone Bricks
Polished Blackstone Brick Slab
Polished Blackstone Brick Stairs
Polished Blackstone Brick Wall
Cracked Polished Blackstone Bricks
Chiseled Polished Blackstone
Block of Gold
Chain
Chest
Crying Obsidian
Glowstone
Lantern
Lava
Magma Block
Nether Bricks
Nether Brick Fence
Nether Brick Stairs
Nether Wart
Netherrack
Obsidian
Quartz Block
Smooth Quartz Block
Smooth Quartz Slab
Soul Sand
Spawner

Technical information [ ]

ID [ ]

Name	Resource location (JE)	Numeric ID
The Nether	`the_nether`	`-1`

Folder [ ]

In Java Edition, the Nether is stored in .minecraft/saves/worldname/DIM-1. Deleting this folder resets the Nether, so that all player-made changes and buildings in that dimension are undone.

In Bedrock Edition, the com.mojang/minecraftWorlds/world ID/db folder contains several collections of chunks. Some of these files are used for the Nether, but it is impossible to tell which ones simply by reading the file name.

Achievements [ ]

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other platforms	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
		Into The Nether	Construct a Nether Portal.	Light a nether portal.	30G	Bronze
		Oooh, shiny!	Distract a Piglin using gold.	Give a piglin a gold item while it is aggressive toward the player.	30G	Silver
		Cover me in debris	Wear a full set of Netherite armor.	Have a full set of Netherite armor in your inventory.	50G	Gold
		Hot tourist destination	Visit all Nether biomes.	The achievement can be completed if you visit biomes in different worlds.	30G	Silver

Advancements [ ]

There is a whole tab dedicated to the Nether in the advancement system, all involving visiting the Nether in some way in order to advance.

Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
We Need to Go Deeper	Build, light and enter a Nether Portal	Ice Bucket Challenge	Enter the Nether dimension.	`story/enter_the_nether`
Nether	Bring summer clothes	—	Enter the Nether dimension.	`nether/root`
Return to Sender	Destroy a Ghast with a fireball	Nether	Kill a ghast using a ghast fireball.	`nether/return_to_sender`
Those Were the Days	Enter a Bastion Remnant	Nether	—	`nether/find_bastion`
Hidden in the Depths	Obtain Ancient Debris	Nether	Have an ancient debris in your inventory.	`nether/obtain_ancient_debris`
Subspace Bubble	Use the Nether to travel 7 km in the Overworld	Nether	Use the Nether to travel between 2 points in the Overworld with a minimum horizontal distance of 7000 blocks between each other, which is 875 blocks in the Nether.	`nether/fast_travel`
A Terrible Fortress	Break your way into a Nether Fortress	Nether	Enter a Nether fortress.	`nether/find_fortress`
Oh Shiny	Distract Piglins with gold	Nether	Give a piglin one of these 24 gold-related items in the `#piglin_loved` item tag, while not wearing any golden armor: Bell Block of Gold Block of Raw Gold Clock Enchanted Golden Apple Gilded Blackstone Glistering Melon Slice Gold Ingot Gold Ore Golden Apple Golden Axe Golden Boots Golden Carrot Golden Chestplate Golden Helmet Golden Hoe Golden Horse Armor Golden Leggings Golden Pickaxe Golden Shovel Golden Sword Light Weighted Pressure Plate Nether Gold Ore Deepslate Gold Ore Raw Gold If this advancement is attempted while the player is wearing golden armor but piglin(s) remain aggressive, the advancement does not trigger. Other gold-related items, if any, do not distract the piglin and do not trigger this advancement.	`nether/distract_piglin`
This Boat Has Legs	Ride a Strider with a Warped Fungus on a Stick	Nether	Boost ^[1] a strider with a warped fungus on a stick.	`nether/ride_strider`
Uneasy Alliance	Rescue a Ghast from the Nether, bring it safely home to the Overworld... and then kill it	Return to Sender	Kill a ghast while in the Overworld.	`nether/uneasy_alliance`
War Pigs	Loot a chest in a Bastion Remnant	Those Were the Days	Open a naturally generated, never before opened chest in a bastion remnant.	`nether/loot_bastion`
Country Lode, Take Me Home	Use a compass on a Lodestone	Hidden in the Depths	—	`nether/use_lodestone`
Cover Me in Debris	Get a full suit of Netherite armor	Hidden in the Depths	Have a full set of netherite armor in your inventory.	`nether/netherite_armor`
Spooky Scary Skeleton	Obtain a Wither Skeleton's skull	A Terrible Fortress	Have a wither skeleton skull in your inventory.	`nether/get_wither_skull`
Into Fire	Relieve a Blaze of its rod	A Terrible Fortress	Have a blaze rod in your inventory.	`nether/obtain_blaze_rod`
Hot Tourist Destinations	Explore all Nether biomes	This Boat Has Legs	Visit all of the 5 following biomes: Basalt Deltas Crimson Forest Nether Wastes Soul Sand Valley Warped Forest The advancement is only for Nether biomes. Other biomes, if any, may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.	`nether/explore_nether`
Withering Heights	Summon the Wither	Spooky Scary Skeleton	—	`nether/summon_wither`
Local Brewery	Brew a potion	Into Fire	Pick up an item from a brewing stand potion slot. This does not need to be a potion. Water bottles or even glass bottles can also trigger this advancement.^[2]	`nether/brew_potion`
Bring Home the Beacon	Construct and place a beacon	Withering Heights	Be within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it has become powered.	`nether/create_beacon`
A Furious Cocktail	Have every potion effect applied at the same time	Local Brewery	Have all of these 13 status effects applied to the player at the same time: Fire Resistance Invisibility Jump Boost Night Vision Poison Regeneration Resistance Slow Falling Slowness Speed Strength Water Breathing Weakness The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects, if any, may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement.	`nether/all_potions`
Beaconator	Bring a beacon to full power	Bring Home the Beacon	Be within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it is being powered by a size 4 pyramid.	`nether/create_full_beacon`
How Did We Get Here?	Have every effect applied at the same time	A Furious Cocktail	Have all of these 26 effects applied to the player at the same time: Absorption Bad Omen Blindness Conduit Power Dolphin's Grace Fire Resistance Glowing Haste Hero of the Village Hunger Invisibility Jump Boost Levitation Mining Fatigue Nausea Night Vision Poison Regeneration Resistance Slow Falling Slowness Speed Strength Water Breathing Weakness Wither The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects, if any, may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement. Note: This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless if one or more of its child advancements have been completed.	`nether/all_effects`
Is It a Balloon?	Look at a ghast through a spyglass	Is It a Bird?	—	`adventure/spyglass_at_ghast`

History [ ]

Java Edition Indev
0.31		20100107			Added a map theme named "Hell". It was a normal map, but with a lava ocean, perpetually dim lighting, and a black sky with dull red clouds. Map themes were later removed in Infdev.
Java Edition Alpha
September 18, 2010					Notch mentions the return of the hell biome, and that it can be used for fast travel, based on a transportation method used in the novel series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Within a dangerous transportation system, "the Ways", people could travel a massive amount of distance in a few days instead of weeks.
v1.2.0		October 4, 2010			This announcement poster hinted that the hell world would utilize portals and that distance traveled inside the hell world would be multiplied greatly on the map above ground.
		October 8, 2010			Notch reveals a new block type, now known as soul sand, that would be included in the new dimension.
		October 10, 2010			A screenshot was released by Notch depicting what the Nether would look like.
		October 11, 2010			Notch makes mention of the first mob to be added to the Nether, saying "You will hate the Ghast."
		October 25, 2010			Notch tweets that he is working on the second new Nether mob, and says that they are less dangerous but are otherwise "pointless."
		October 29, 2010			Notch was conflicted on naming the new dimension; he wanted to avoid "re-using existing religious names", and wanted to use a more creative and original name. He considered both "the Slip" and "the Nexus" but felt that neither felt "[M]inecrafty enough". It was eventually changed to "the Nether" on the day of the Halloween Update release.
		preview			A preview of the Halloween Update was sent out to two gaming websites later that day.^[3] Interestingly, the name "the Slip" was used in this release.
		preview			Added the Nether, including ghasts, zombie pigmen, netherrack, soul sand, glowstone, and nether portals.
v1.2.2					Lava was made to flow farther than it did on the Overworld.
Java Edition Beta
May 2, 2011					Portals were made to function properly in multiplayer, allowing players in servers to teleport between the Overworld and the Nether.
1.6		Test Build 3			Beds in the Nether were made to explode if used.
1.6		Test Build 3			The Nether now finally works in multiplayer.
Java Edition
1.0.0		September 16, 2011			Jens Bergensten tweets a teaser screenshot of changes to the Nether terrain generation, including nether fortresses.
		September 19, 2011			Jens releases a second teaser screenshot, showcasing the structure of the upcoming nether fortresses.
		September 21, 2011			Jens mentions that he is finished with most of the new Nether features, including two new mobs, one of which is a "retexturing attempt".
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			Many new additions to the Nether, including: magma cubes, blazes (as well as blaze spawners and blaze rods), nether fortresses (including nether bricks, nether brick stairs and Nether brick fences), nether wart, ghast tears dropped by ghasts and gold nuggets dropped by zombie pigmen.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4			With the addition of the Silk Touch enchantment, it was possible to legitimately obtain water using ice in the Nether.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5			The ability to pick up ice blocks with the Silk Touch enchantment was removed.
1.2.1		12w06a			Snow golems now take damage in the Nether.
1.3.1		12w16a			Added the `/give` command. Using it to get water or `flowing_water` blocks allows another way to place water in the Nether.
		12w17a			Ice can now be obtained with Silk Touch again, but ice no longer melts into water in the Nether.
		12w22a			Rarely, nether portals spawn zombie pigmen.
		12w27a			Growing nether wart is no longer restricted to the Nether – it can be grown in the Overworld and the End.
1.4.2		12w32a			Zombie pigmen can wear armor, and the sword they are holding makes them deal more damage.
		12w34a			Any mobs and entities can travel through nether portals.
		12w36a			Added wither skeletons.
1.4.6		12w49a			Added nether brick slabs.
1.5		13w01a			Nether quartz ore is added to the Nether, which spawns around netherrack.
1.5		13w02a			Lava flows more quickly in the Nether, and hidden lava can be found in the Nether.
1.6.1		13w18a			Chests can now be found in nether fortresses.
2013 Music Update					Four music tracks added for the Nether, including "Concrete Halls", "Dead Voxel", "Warmth" and "Ballad of the Cats".
1.7.2		13w37a			Added the `/setblock` command which can place water in the Nether.
1.8		14w03a			Added the `/fill` command which can place water in the Nether.
1.8		14w25a			Removed the item forms of water. The `/give` command can no longer be used to get water in the Nether because water can no longer exist in inventories (just as a placed block). `/setblock` or `/fill` should be used in place of `/give`.
1.9		15w31a			Removed the Nether fog.
		15w31c			Re-added the Nether fog.
		15w49a			The wither and ender dragon no longer travel through portals.
1.10		16w20a			Endermen now rarely spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
					Added magma blocks.
					Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
1.13		18w07a			Vertical air cavities, stretching from bedrock level as far as Y=35 and filled with lava to Y=10, now occur in chains across the bottom of the Nether, often forming extensive ravines.
		18w19a			The biome "Hell" has been renamed to "Nether".
		pre5			The biome ID of the Nether has been changed from `hell` to `nether`.
1.14		18w43a			Added nether brick walls and red nether brick slabs, stairs and walls.
1.14		19w14a			Soul sand and gravel now generate around lava sea level instead of between y level 60 and 65.^[4]
1.16		20w06a			Added 3 new biomes to the Nether, the crimson forest, warped forest and soul sand valley, while renaming the original Nether biome to nether wastes.
					Added ancient debris, a rare ore that generates in the Nether.
					Added hoglins, which spawn exclusively in the crimson forest in the Nether.
		20w07a			Added piglins, which spawn in both the crimson forest and nether wastes in the Nether.
		20w09a			Changed the ambient lighting in the Nether, it is now much darker
		20w10a			Added ambience to the Nether.
		20w11a			Added twisting vines to the warped forest biome in the Nether.
		20w11a			Added nether gold ore to the Nether.
		20w13a			Added striders, which spawn on lava lakes.
		20w15a			Added the basalt deltas biome to the Nether.
		20w15a			Added 3 new music tracks including: "Chrysopoeia", "Rubedo" and "So Below".
		20w16a			Added bastion remnants to the Nether.
		20w16a			Added ruined portals which can generate in the Nether.
1.16.2		20w27a			Added piglin brutes, which spawn in bastion remnants.
Pocket Edition Alpha
April 22, 2015					Tommaso Checchi tweets a picture of the Nether, showing that it is officially in development.
April 22, 2015					He later tweets stating that he will not tell how finished it is or what version it will be in.^[5]
v0.12.1		build 1			Added the Nether.
		build 1			Water can be placed in the Nether by breaking ice.
		build 6			Lava now spreads faster in the Nether.
v0.15.0		build 1			Endermen can now spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
v0.16.0		build 1			Water cannot be placed in the Nether without inventory editing or using commands.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0					Four music tracks added for the Nether, including "Concrete Halls", "Dead Voxel", "Warmth" and "Ballad of the Cats".
1.1.3		alpha 1.1.3.0			Added magma blocks.
1.1.3		alpha 1.1.3.0			Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
Bedrock Edition
1.16.0		beta 1.16.0.51			Added 3 new biomes to the Nether, the crimson forest, warped forest and soul sand valley.
					Added ancient debris, a rare ore that generates in the Nether.
					Added hoglins and piglins, hoglins spawn exclusively in the crimson forest in the Nether, while piglins spawn in both the crimson forest and nether wastes in the Nether.
		beta 1.16.0.57			Added ambience to the Nether.
					Added nether gold ore to the Nether.
					Added striders, which spawn on lava lakes.
					Added the basalt deltas biome to the Nether.
					Added 3 new music tracks including: "Chrysopoeia", "Rubedo" and "So Below".
					Added bastion remnants to the Nether.
					Added ruined portals which can generate in the Nether.
					Gravel and blackstone patch can now generate below lava sea level in the Nether.
1.16.20		beta 1.16.20.50			Added piglin brutes, which spawn in bastion remnants.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added the Nether.
TU9					Added new music to the Nether.
					Added nether fortresses.
					Added Reset Nether option to force regeneration of the Nether. This is helpful for older saves that didn't have a nether fortress.
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13		Endermen can now spawn in the Nether, and can now pick up netherrack.
					Added magma blocks.
					Added red nether bricks and nether wart blocks, which can be crafted, but do not otherwise generate naturally in the Nether.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added the Nether.
1.3.12					Improved view distance.

Issues [ ]

Issues relating to "The Nether" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia [ ]

Upon entering the Nether as a single player, the passage of time freezes in the Overworld, resuming when the player returns unless the /forceload command is used. This is due to the spawn chunks no longer being ticked, and not chunks loading and unloading as some players believe. The spawn chunks are kept loaded when there are no players in the Overworld, but most stuff other than basic redstone stops working.
The numbers for the 3 dimensions are -1=the Nether, 0=Overworld, 1=the End. This contributes to a misconception that the Nether is "below" the Overworld, although Dinnerbone confirmed that they are simply separate dimensions.^[6]
In Bedrock Edition, if a section of the bedrock ceiling is removed (e.g., through commands) mobs can spawn directly below where the ceiling should be, despite the surface density cap in the Nether being 0.
In Legacy Console Edition, the size of the Nether is limited, with bedrock walls surrounding it on all sides. The Overworld-Nether ratio varies depending on the world size: it is 1:3 for Classic and Small worlds, 1:6 for Medium worlds, and 1:8 (the same as Java and Bedrock editions) for Large worlds.
The crimson and warped forest biomes are suggested to decontaminate the Nether environment from potential landfill pollution that coincides with the presence of Ancient Debris, as stated from an article from the official Minecraft website regarding netherite Scrap.^[7]

Gallery [ ]

The first screenshot released by Notch showing what the Nether would look like.
Brightened version of the previous screenshot.
Another early view of a nether fortress Jeb released in September 2011.
Brightened.
The Nether as it appeared prior to Beta 1.8.
View of a nether fortress.
A large, spreading stream of lava in the Nether.
Ghasts are not harmed by lava or fire.
Bedrock naturally exposed in the Nether.
Using a map in the Nether causes the player's position indicator to rotate, but any markers do not.
A hidden lava source block uncovered.
Mushrooms naturally generated above the Nether.
The Nether in the Overworld, generated using Buffet.
The junction of all biomes in the Nether.
The basalt deltas, one of the five new biomes in the Nether.
The Nether ceiling, which is a vast endless plane of bedrock with a red sky of the void.
Brightened version of the previous screenshot.
Brightened.
Brightened.
Brightened.