How to Find Clay in Minecraft

Clay is a versatile building block addition to the “Minecraft” world. With it, you can make Bricks and Terracotta, and with a little extra work, you can even create decorative Glazed Terracotta from Clay. If you’re having trouble finding Clay in “Minecraft,” don’t worry. It’s fairly common and is located in almost every Biome.

This article will explain how to find Clay quickly in “Minecraft.”

The Best Place to Find Clay

Naturally generated Clay appears as a solid gray block. Clay is most prevalent in Lush Caves and in shallow water. Along almost any riverbank, you will find a mix of Sand, Dirt, and Clay. Since version 1.14, Clay spawns even in Savanna and Desert Biomes in shallow water features. This means Clay can be found in every Biome, from the Swamp to the Desert.

Clay is not y-axis specific as it generates at every height. It attempts to spawn 46 times per chunk and can be found in clumps as large as 160 Blocks. It is also possible to find Clay in a few other locations, like:

• In Villages under Fisher cottages
• Villager Mason houses
• Decorating the inside of a random Villager’s home
• Carried by a hostile mob

If you want to look specifically in Lush Cave Biomes, these generate most often below Jungle and Dark Forest Biomes. Lush Caves never appear below the Savanna, Plains, or Forest. The underground greenery-filled caves are full of flora and shallow ponds, and Clay Blocks are much more plentiful in these ponds. If you’re hoping for multiple stacks of Clay Blocks, Lush Cave Biomes are the best places to explore.

Clay Tips and Tricks

Clay is easy to find and easier to mine, but with a few tips, you can be a clay expert.

• Clay can be mined with anything, including your hand. A Gold Shovel or Netherite will mine Clay at the fastest speed.
• A mined Clay Block yields four balls of Clay.
• If you want to mine the Clay Block and keep it intact, you can use a Silk Touch enchanted tool.
• Balls of Clay are stackable in groups of 64 and can be turned back into Clay Blocks with a Crafting Table.
• Blocks of Clay are also stackable to 64.

Rarer Places to Find Clay

Occasionally mobs such as Endermen will hold Clay Blocks that they drop if you kill them. In Java Edition, Mason Villagers have the possibility of gifting a Clay Block to a player with the “Hero of the Village” status. Clay Blocks can generate as part of Village structures, such as Stone-Cutter homes or Fishing cottages.

How to Make Clay

In recent versions of “Minecraft” that include Dripstone, it is possible to make Clay.

1. Place Mud above another block.
   
2. Put a Pointed Dripstone underneath the block.
   
3. The Mud will eventually turn to Clay.
   

In this case, the Dripstone uses its water to make Clay and does not drip any water into a Cauldron.

How to Farm Clay

To create your own Clay farm, you will need Mud and pointed Dripstone. Mud can be manufactured by hitting Dirt with a Water Bottle, which will give you a use for all the Water Bottles you fish out of the sea. Pointed Dripstone can be found in Dripstone Cave Biomes.

1. Place a Block. (A Dripstone Block isn’t necessary, but it’s a nice touch.)
   
2. Underneath the Block, set a pointed Dripstone.
   
3. Set a Mud Block on top of the original block. After a time, the Mud block will become Clay.
   

Mud can also be found in a Mangrove Swamp Biome in large quantities for building giant Clay farms. Remember that when Dripstone is being used to make Clay, it will not drip water into a Cauldron as it normally would.

Things You Can Do With Clay

There are multiple uses for Clay besides holding up river banks. Clay Blocks can be used like any other block for building, but there are also a few specific uses that only pertain to Clay.

Bricks

Clay balls can be fired in a Furnace to produce Bricks. Once made, Bricks can be put onto a Crafting Table to produce Brick Blocks or Flower Pots.

It takes three Bricks in a Crafting Table to make one Flower Pot, and each Flower Pot can hold one flower or plant for decoration. Brick building blocks are made by crafting four Bricks at a time. Not only are Brick Blocks decorative, but they are also durable and as strong as other stone blocks. Brick Blocks can be cut into slabs and stairs as well.

Craft a sheet of Paper and Brick Block together to produce the “Masoned” Banner Pattern.

Terracotta

Although Terracotta is plentiful in the Badlands, it’s rare to find it anywhere else. If you want some Terracotta and don’t want to traipse all over the world looking for it, you can make it from Clay.

1. Place one Clay Block into a Furnace.
   
2. Smelt it with any fuel.
   
3. This will produce one block of regular Terracotta.
   

Regular Terracotta Blocks can be dyed with any “Minecraft” color of Dye. These include red, orange, yellow, lime green, green, cyan, light blue, dark blue, purple, magenta, pink, white, light gray, gray, brown, and black. Not only can Dyed Terracotta be used in buildings, but it can also be baked into Glazed Terracotta with a Furnace, just like Terracotta found in the wild.

Make Flute Music

If a Clay Block is placed underneath a note Block, flute sounds will be produced. The flute is one of 16 different instruments represented in “Minecraft.” Each instrument can also play 25 different pitches.

FAQs

Does Clay have to generate below the water in Minecraft?

No, although most Clay will generate under shallow water, it is possible for it to appear above water level. Generally, it will not be far away from a water source.

How do I turn Clay balls into Clay Blocks?

It’s easy to mine Clay and then decide it will take too much Inventory space to carry all those Clay balls.

• You can use a Crafting Table to turn four Clay balls back into one Clay Block without losing any Clay in the process.

• You can mine a Clay Block back into balls of Clay if you change your mind.

• There is no limit to the number of times you can go back and forth between Clay Blocks and balls of Clay.

Is Clay stackable?

Yes, both Clay Blocks and Clay balls are stackable for up to 64 items. Therefore, you can carry much more Clay at once by stacking Clay Blocks.

Does the Fortune enchantment affect Clay?

No, regardless of Fortune Enchantment, Clay Blocks will always drop four Clay balls. The only exception is if the mining tool used is Enchanted with “Silk Touch,” in which case the entire block will be mined instead of breaking into Clay balls.

Is Clay a good building material?

Clay is not particularly strong or resilient against Creeper explosions, so it’s best to form it into Bricks or Terracotta if you want to build something durable. It is a nice building material if you’re interested in blending into a gray landscape.

Finding Clay in Minecraft

Clay adds interesting visible variety to the river shores in “Minecraft,” and it is also useful for many decorative purposes. It’s easy to find and simple to transform to give building projects some extra flare.

Smelting Clay balls to build red Brick buildings or fireplaces adds a sturdy classical look to your projects. Cook the entire Clay Block for Terracotta, add a little Dye, and a boring building becomes a colorful sculpture. Another round through the Furnace, and you can make a plethora of colors of Glazed Terracotta for an artistic addition to your construction designs.

Clay may seem unassuming and plain in the rivers, but it holds a wealth of creative design ideas.

Is Clay one of your favorite materials in Minecraft? What do you like to use it for? Tell us about it in the comments below.