Desert



The Desert is a sandy biome. Each map will generally contain at least two Desert areas. The main Desert, present in every world, will be larger and will house the Underground Desert biome beneath. Pyramids can rarely appear in Desert biomes. Pools of water may rarely appear in the desert, which take on a sandy yellow (on ) or turquoise (on ) color.

The Oasis mini biome can be found inside the desert, which includes palm trees and a big pool of water in the middle.

On the, the main desert has a 1 in 3 chance of containing some kind of entrance to the Underground Desert below. These entrances come in four varieties: Chambers, Anthill, Larva Hole, and Pit. On the, the main desert will always have an Pit-type entrance.

An area is considered a Desert biome if there at least 1500 Sand Blocks, causing the water and background to change, but Desert plants and enemies can spawn on even a single block of sand. Deserts are overridden by most other biomes, including the Ocean. Rain will occur in Deserts just as in any other surface biome. On the of Terraria, Sandstorms may also occur periodically /when wind speed is over 30 mph, which cause special enemies to spawn as well as pushing the player according to the direction of the wind.

During Hardmode, the increased spread of the Corruption/Crimson and Hallow is likely to eventually convert any normal Deserts. Corruption/Crimson Deserts spawned upon world creation may also be turned into Hallow ones if they are inside the world part that is instantly converted at the beginning of Hardmode. All variations will be similar to their main biomes (e.g. The Corruption or The Hallow): the music theme is the same, the enemies are the same (except for Mummy variants and sandstorm enemies), and the background is just slightly different. The sand will be replaced by ebonsand, crimsand, or pearlsand. Although their color will change, cacti still drop Cactus when cut, and Waterleaf are also able to grow in a Hallowed Desert.     

Entrances to the Underground Desert
On the, there is a 1/3 (33.33%) chance that the main desert will generate with one of four types of structures that lead towards the Underground Desert. They are referred to as: Chambers, Anthill, Larva Hole and Pit:
 * The Chambers consist of of a zigzagging downward tunnel with one or two small rooms connected to the corners.
 * Pits are large funnels generated at the center of the desert.
 * Anthills are upward cones with narrow downward holes in the center. For this entrance type, 2-3 Anthills will generate across the surface of the main desert.
 * Larva Holes are downward funnels with narrow holes in the center. For this entrance type, 2-3 Larva Holes will generate across the surface of the main desert.

On the, there is a 100% chance that the main desert will generate with a large Pit-type entrance.

Happiness
NPCs that like the Desert:


 * Arms Dealer
 * Dye Trader
 * Steampunker

NPCs that dislike the Desert:


 * Dryad
 * Angler
 * Merchant
 * Zoologist

NPCs that hate the Desert:


 * Santa Claus

Trivia

 * The Desert is the least popular biome for housing (discounting invalid housing biomes like the Corruption and the Crimson). A total of 5 NPCs either hate or dislike living in it, more than any other biome.
 * The Desert is the only biome not to contain any special fishing catches.
 * According to the Bestiary entry for the Sand Shark, a saltwater river ran through the desert in ancient times.