I have a deep appreciation for deserts in Minecraft PE, particularly during sunset. There’s nothing quite as stunning as watching the red sun’s rays illuminate the dunes, only to realize you need to find shelter quickly when swarms of skeletons appear around you. Deserts are also home to many valuable resources—cacti, bones, and of course, our block of the week: sand.
Sand was introduced to Minecraft in the early stages of the game’s development on May 28, 2009, alongside trees, clouds, and metal ores. Initially, it could only be found in odd single-block dense beaches, but later it was modified to generate more naturally with islands, oceans, and deserts.
Currently, sand generates naturally in four-block layers across various parts of most biomes in the Overworld of Minecraft PE. You can find it everywhere from forests to tundras, swamps, and beyond. In the mesa biome of MCPE, there is an opportunity to discover red sand, which is essentially the same as regular sand, except that it cannot be used to craft concrete. This seems like a bug, and perhaps the Minecraft community will address it.
If you’ve played Minecraft Pocket Edition for even a few minutes, you may have noticed that sand behaves differently than most other blocks because it is affected by gravity. If you remove a sand block and there’s a breakable block beneath it, it will fall into the void. Undoubtedly, this can be quite frustrating while mining.
However, this characteristic has its useful side effects. If a player or mob in the world of MCPE gets hit by a sand block, they will suffocate until they escape or perish, making it quite handy as a basic trap in Minecraft. Simply connect a pressure plate or tripwire to a series of pistons holding up columns of sand. Those pesky intruders won’t even know what hit them.
You can also launch sand using a TNT cannon, which is very convenient if you want to cover a friend’s base in sand after falling victim to their sand trap. Detonate TNT underwater with a falling sand block above it to shoot sand over great distances in any direction within the Minecraft Pocket Edition world you choose. A complete guide on how to create a TNT cannon using sand can be found on Minecraft Wiki.
Sometimes, you might notice that sand has been imbued with a mystical force during world generation in Minecraft PE, causing it to levitate in mid-air. You’ll recognize these spots because small dust particles fall from underneath. But be cautious around these magical floating areas of sand—if you place or break blocks nearby, everything could collapse, leading to dire consequences for you.
