Environments

The World of Terraria consists of many different types of environments, also known as biomes. If you have a hard time finding these biomes such as the Floating Islands, you can use these tools to help you locate them.

Forest


Forests are where most of the Trees spawn. Trees drop Acorns when they are cut down, which can be used to replant them. The more branches there are on the tree, the more Acorns will drop. Natural caves may be found in this environment, although most are not more than 100 feet deep. It's a good idea to build your house next to a big forest which is a source of wood for tools. Usually, the player will spawn in or near a forest.

Monsters


 * Goblin Scout (Day, far edges only)
 * Demon Eye (Night)
 * Slime (Day, Includes blue and rarely the purple variants of the slime)
 * Pinky (Day, Uncommon)
 * King Slime (Day, Very Rare)
 * Bunny (Day)
 * Bird
 * Corrupt Bunny (Blood Moon or with Vile Powder)
 * The Groom (Blood Moon, Rare)
 * Doctor Bones (Night, Rare)
 * Zombie (Night)
 * Werewolf (Hardmode, Full Moon only)
 * Goldfish (Common)

Desert
Deserts are large sandy areas that are occasionally generated on the map. They have 2 types of plants: Cactus and Waterleaf, both of which are used in Alchemy. The Desert is useful if you want to craft a large amount of Glass or the Sandgun.

After the Wall of Flesh in the Underworld is defeated, the Corruption and Hallow ground will begin to spread over sand.

Monsters


 * Vulture
 * Antlion
 * Mummy (Hardmode)

Ocean
Main article: Ocean

Oceans are large bodies of Water that spawn on both ends of the map. Oceans typically have many chests, which usually contain water-related items, such as the Trident, Flippers, and the Breathing Reed. They are also the only place you can find Coral.

Monsters


 * Goldfish
 * Crab
 * Shark
 * Jellyfish (pink)

Underground
Main article: The Underground

The Underground consists of four layers: The dirt layer, the rocky dirt layer, the stone layer and The Underworld layer. While The Underworld is considered its own environment, it is still technically an underground layer.

Dirt Layer
This area, despite being underground, is still considered to be above sea level. Therefore, the music will remain the same as the biome that's above it, and any monsters found within the dirt layer are also found on the surface, including Green, Blue, and Purple Slimes, Zombies and Demon Eyes (if it's nighttime), or, if there is Corruption within the area, Eaters of Souls and Devourers.

Rocky Dirt Layer
This layer is located just below sea level. You can tell when you've reached this layer when the background changes to a mix between dirt and stone, and when the music changes to the underground theme.

Monsters


 * Slime (Blue, Red, Yellow, Purple)
 * Pinky (Uncommon)
 * Giant Worm
 * Piranha
 * Goldfish

Stone Layer
The stone layer comprises most of the Underground. After moving below a certain depth underground, lava starts to appear in place of water. In this area you can find the Glowing Mushroom Biome

Monsters


 * Slime (Black, Mother, Baby)
 * Giant Worm
 * Skeleton
 * Tim (Rare)
 * Undead Miner (Uncommon)
 * Cave Bat
 * Piranha
 * Goldfish
 * Jellyfish (Blue)

The Corruption
Main Article: The Corruption

The Corruption forms during the creation of a map at a random position. In most cases there are 2 to 4 Corruptions per map. The Corruption spawns higher-level monsters regardless of time and thus should initially be avoided by low-level players. Shadow Orbs can be found here in deep caves called chasms. These chasms can reach all the way to the stone layer. If you happen to have Corrupt Seeds, you can create your own Corruption. Odd thorn-like bushes will grow here. Avoid these, as they will do damage.

While initially restricted towards spreading on patches of dirt, and being unable to spread past Sunflowers and snow, once the Wall of Flesh is defeated, the Corruption will begin to spread through stone, sand, and mud at a fast rate. When the Corruption spreads across Mud blocks, it'll turn them into Dirt blocks. Thus, it is able to spread into Jungles, though it will NOT create "Corrupted Jungles" in the process.

Monsters


 * Eater of Souls (and its variants)
 * Devourer
 * Corrupt Bunny
 * Corrupt Goldfish
 * Eater of Worlds (Boss)

Underground Corruption
Main Article: Underground Corruption

The Underground Corruption occurs when the Corruption spreads through the underground layer. Souls of Night are a resource unique to this biome. This is a Hardmode-Only Biome.

Monsters
 * World Feeder
 * Clinger
 * Slimer
 * Corrupt Slime
 * Corruptor
 * Cursed Hammer (Rare)

Corrupted Desert
Main Article: Corrupted Desert The Corruption transforms sand blocks into Ebonsand Blocks.

Monsters
 * Dark Mummy

Corrupted Oceans
Monsters
 * Corrupt Goldfish

The Hallow
Main Article: The Hallow

Hallowed ground will generate after the Wall of Flesh is defeated in the Underworld. It is the opposite of the Corruption. Like the Corruption, the Hallow can spread across dirt, stone, and sand, though unlike the Corruption, it cannot spread through mud.

Monsters
 * Unicorn
 * Pixie
 * Gastropod (Night)
 * Possessed Armor (Night)
 * Wraith (Night)

Underground Hallow
Main Article: Underground Hallow

The Underground Hallow forms when the Hallow spreads through the underground layer. Crystal Shards and Souls of Light are resources unique to this biome.

Monsters
 * Chaos Elemental
 * Illuminant Bat
 * Illuminant Slime
 * Enchanted Sword (Rare)

Hallowed Desert
Main Article: Hallowed Desert

This biome is formed naturally when the Hallow transforms sand blocks into Pearlsand Blocks.

Monsters
 * Light Mummy

Hallowed Ocean
It is currently unknown if any special monsters spawn in Hallowed Oceans.

Meteorite
Main article: Meteorite

Meteorites have a 50% chance to spawn when you break a Shadow Orb during the night, and can also spawn randomly during the night. Meteorite Ore can be used to make Meteorite Bars, which can be used to make:

Monsters
 * Meteor Hamaxe
 * Space Gun
 * Star Cannon
 * Phaseblades
 * Meteor Shot
 * Meteor Armor


 * Meteor Head

The Jungle
The Jungle is a biome that exists both above ground and underground. It is usually located far away from the spawn point, at the opposite end from the Dungeon.

Surface Jungle
Main article: Surface Jungle

The Surface Jungle is a tree-filled biome containing decorative vines. The trees here grow without the need to plant Acorns, as long as there is Jungle Grass present. The Surface Jungle typically directly connects to the Underground Jungle. This Biome was added in the 1.0.4 update. Like the Corruption, the Surface Jungle has its own music. The Jungle is certainly less dangerous than the Underground Jungle, and yields Chest(s). However you can still die easily without a weapon.

Monsters


 * Jungle Bat
 * Piranha
 * Snatcher
 * Jungle Slime

Underground Jungle
Main article: Underground Jungle

The Underground Jungle is a very remote area of the World. It is often found near or under the Corruption. Like Dungeons, these areas have few dead ends; however unlike Dungeons they are covered in plants. Special items that are unique to the Underground Jungle are found in Jungle Shrines which are small buildings made of Gold Bricks that are spawned at random locations. You can often find a higher concentration of Ores like Gold, Silver, Iron, and Copper in the Underground Jungle.

Monsters


 * Man Eater
 * Hornet (and its variants)
 * Jungle Bat (Surface Jungle)
 * Snatcher (Rare) (Usually only on the Surface Jungle or near the surface)
 * Skeleton (when the Underground Jungle reaches the stone layer)
 * Fire Imp (when the Underground Jungle reaches the Underworld)

Dungeons
Main article: Dungeon

The dungeon is an enormous building found close to the edge of a generated World, spanning many layers deep. It is filled with chests that contain unique items.

There is only one Dungeon in each World, although a player may create new Worlds and plunder the Dungeons to gain additional items. Rarely, the Dungeon can get cut off by the ocean and only have the Old Man. Digging down through the sand can most often reveal the buried Dungeon.

The Dungeon's upper level is home to an Old Man, which will turn into Skeletron should the player talk to him at night, or summon a Dungeon Guardian if the player attempts to enter the dungeon without killing him first.

Monsters


 * Dungeon Guardian (only if the player enters the Dungeon without killing Skeletron first)
 * Angry Bones (and its variants)
 * Cursed Skull
 * Dark Caster
 * Skeletron (Guardian boss)
 * Blazing Wheel (Immortal)
 * Spike Ball (Immortal)

Floating Islands
Main article: Floating Islands

Floating Islands are masses of land that appear in the sky. Just like forests, you can find trees and grass growing over dirt blocks, with some stone and Ores in the ground. Each Floating Island also has a building made of Copper, Silver, or Gold Brick which contains a chest. In the chest will be a Shiny Red Balloon, Lucky Horseshoe, or a Starfury along with other various items. Sky Islands are VERY hard to find on a large map, but it is considerably easier on a Small map. If there is Gold in the surface, there is usually a sky island above it, since Gold is usually only found underground. If you have Guns, you can use Meteor Shot, (crafted from Meteorite Bar(s), which bounce off of blocks), to find a floating island as well. The Water Bolt spell could also be useful, if you are patient enough for it to bounce back. There is also alot of of gold and silver in the islands.

Floating Islands are also known as Sky Islands or Skylands

Floating Islands near the edges of the world can have a Goblin Scout spawn on them.

Monsters


 * Harpies
 * Zombie
 * Slimes
 * Goblin Scout (Conditionally)
 * Wyvern (Hardmode)

The Underworld
Main article: The Underworld

The Underworld is a hellish realm (about 3500 Feet below on Large maps and 1700 on Small ones) that can be reached by digging past the stone layer. It is very easily identified by its background of stone with veins of Lava. It is primarily made of Hellstone ore deposits surrounded by Ash Blocks, with extensive pools of Lava. Chests with unique loot can be found here. The chests in the underworld are shadow chests and require a shadow key to open. Hellstone can be used to make molten tools and armor.

The Wall of Flesh is a boss that can be summoned by tossing a Guide Voodoo Doll into one of the many pools of lava within the Underworld. Defeating it will unlock Hard Mode for your world. After killing the WoF, it is possible to have the underworld become Corrupted or Hallowed - The background colour change indictes this.



Monsters


 * Bone Serpent
 * Fire Imp
 * Lava Slime
 * Hellbat
 * Demon
 * Voodoo Demon (Rare)
 * Goldfish (only when water is present - if so, common)
 * Piranha (only when water is present)
 * Wall of Flesh (Boss)

Snow Biome
Main Article: Snow Biome

The Snow Biome is a christmas style biome, with snowmen monsters, snow and presents. It also introduces a new NPC, Santa Claus. In the Snow Biome you can find Snow Blocks and in christmas time enemies may drop a Snow Globe which will summon the Frost Legion after you beat the frost legion you will find Santa Claus which will sell obviously christmas stuff like the Santa Outfit and Christmas Lights.

Glowing Mushroom Biome
You Find this biome in the stone layer of the world and the items found are glowing mushrooms