- For other sand-related objects in Minecraft, see Sand (Disambiguation).
Sand is a common physics-obeying block that can be found in desert biomes and next to bodies of water like lakes, rivers, and beaches.
Sources
Sand can be found on the surface of deserts, at the bottom of lukewarm and warm oceans, in rivers and beaches (including the frozen varieties), or from the majority of chests found within desert temples. Wandering traders will also trade sand and red sand in exchange for emeralds.
Mechanics
Sand can be broken by any tool, but a shovel is the quickest. Being a physic-obeying block, it will turn into a falling block entity if there is no block supporting it from beneath. The sand will fall until it hits a solid block, at which point it will turn back into a normal sand block. However, if it lands atop a torch, it will turn into a gather-able item. If 2 falling sand blocks land directly on top of a player and covers the player's head, the player will start to suffocate, slowly losing health.
When smelted in a furnace, sand becomes glass.
Crafting
| Sandstone | TNT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sand | Sand | None | Gunpowder | Sand | Gunpowder | |
| Sand | Sand | None | Sand | Gunpowder | Sand | |
| None | None | None | Gunpowder | Sand | Gunpowder | |
| Concrete Powder (Shapeless recipe) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gravel | Sand | Gravel |
| Sand | Any kind of Dye | Sand |
| Gravel | Sand | Gravel |
Mining
Sand can be harvested with any tool or by hand, but a shovel is the fastest way to harvest sand.
| Tool | 
|
|---|---|
| Hardness | 0.5 |
| Breaking time[note 1] | |
| Default |
0.75 |
| Wood |
0.4 |
| Stone |
0.2 |
| Iron |
0.15 |
| Diamond |
0.1 |
| Netherite |
0.1 |
| Gold |
0.1 |
- ↑ Times are for unenchanted tools in seconds.
Trivia
- Sand and gravel take about 0.45 seconds to fall one meter.
- Sand falls through torches without breaking, if there is air below the torch.
Gallery
