Sand is a block type that was first added to Minecraft in version 0.0.14a. Sand has a single texture that is put on all six sides of the block. A notable fact about Sand is that if there is no block below it, it will fall until it lands on the next available block. Sand can be found in large quantities in certain areas of the map, especially in the Desert biome. Beaches that appear by lakes or the ocean can also be made of sand of up to four blocks high, extending down to the Stone layer. Sometimes Cavern tunnels branch up underneath Beaches or sand plugs at the bottom of lakes. This creates natural floating Sand that will fall if a block is placed next to it or a block adjacent to it is removed. In single-player Survival mode, the player will always spawn on sand.
Sand can be mined easily by hand, although using a shovel is recommended for digging large quantities of Sand. A mined Sand block always drops a Sand resource-block. Sand is a very weak block and will be destroyed largely by explosions. When Sand is being affected by gravity and falling, it exhibits a smooth falling animation. If falling Sand lands on a Mob or the player and covers their head, it will suffocate them until they move out of the block.
Sand can be used in the construction of Airlocks and the creation of suffocation traps for Mobs. Sand is not often used to build structures with because it is affected by gravity. Nonetheless, some players use non-gravity-affected blocks to support Sand.
A Sand Block can be smelted into a Glass Block. Four Sand blocks are used in the Crafting recipe of TNT together with Gunpowder.
If falling Sand lands on certain blocks like Torches or Steps, it will disintegrate into a sand resource block.
History
A beach, composed of Sand blocks
Sand is available for use since Classic Mode. During that time, Sand blocks are rarer and only appears naturally in one block-thick beaches that can appear by water or in the middle of a landscape. These beaches are always level and below Ocean level. Sand instantly appears at the lowest point it can go when it is when placed above an air block without any sort of falling animation. Destroying a pillar made from sand from the bottom will cause the sand to disappear from the top first. These attributes were present until the release of Infdev.
Map editors can be used to create floating Sand, although the server will crash if the Sand is affected from its state.
Trivia
- By very slightly covering the edge your player with sand using the manipulation of gravity, the player can see through solid blocks in Alpha Mode. This will allow the player to spot Caverns, Lava and Dungeons.
- An old glitch in Classic mode allowed players to raise the height of a fluid block by placing Sand over it. The Sand would stay suspended in mid-air until it was broken. When broken, a fluid block corresponding to the type below the sand would appear where the block was. The suspended fluid block would remain immobile until a block was placed next to it, causing a flood.
- Placing a torch underneath a block that is supporting a stack of sand blocks, breaking the block would of course cause the sand to fall but when reaching the block with the torch on it they will break down to allow you to pick them up much quicker and easier without the use of a shovel or your hand.
A plug of sand at the bottom of a lake which forms the roof of a cave.