How to Find a Swamp in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Swamps generate in flat, temperate terrain near sea level at very high erosion, replacing rivers and sitting between plains, forests, taigas and windswept hills - never directly on the ocean. Look for shallow murky water, lily pads, vine-covered oaks and blue orchids (which grow nowhere else). Slimes spawn on the surface at night, and witch huts hide in the deeper swamps.

What you need

A boat - half the biome is shallow water
A sword for the night slimes
A name tag for a frog or two (temperate orange frogs live here)

Step by step

Search in flat temperate regions at very high erosion: swamps sit near sea level between plains, sunflower plains, forests, taigas and ranges of windswept hills or windswept savannas.
Swamps replace rivers in these areas and never directly border the ocean - though their waterways usually connect to one.
Temperature decides the neighbor: at higher temperatures swamps border mangrove swamps; at cold ones they end abruptly at frozen rivers.
Spot it: flat, shallow gray-green water with lily pads, sparse vine-covered oaks standing in the water, seagrass on the bottom and sugar cane on the shores.
Confirm with the exclusive flower: blue orchids grow only in swamps - if you see one, you are standing in one. Firefly bushes grow here too.
Slimes spawn on the surface at night, most during a full moon - the easiest overworld slime source without digging out a slime chunk.
Look for witch huts on stilts in the water: the witch's cauldron and the guaranteed black cat are the giveaway - a classic witch farm location.
Collect the biome kit: blue orchids, lily pads, vines, mushrooms (huge mushrooms appear in Bedrock), clay from the shallow water, and temperate frogs.
Still stuck? Use /locate biome minecraft:swamp with cheats enabled for exact coordinates.

Java vs Bedrock

Flat, wet, high erosion: the swamp is the slime-and-witch biome with the exclusive blue orchid - ugly, useful and easy to farm.

Versions: Swamp generation is the same on Java and Bedrock; huge mushrooms are Bedrock-only here. Current as of 26.x.

Frequently asked questions

Where do swamps spawn in Minecraft?

In flat terrain near sea level at very high erosion, in temperate to cold regions between plains, forests, taigas and windswept hills. They replace rivers, never touch the ocean directly, and border mangrove swamps where it is warmer.

What is special about the swamp biome?

Slimes spawn on the surface at night (peaking at full moon), witch huts generate here, blue orchids grow exclusively in swamps, and it is the home of the temperate orange frog.

How do I farm slimes in a swamp?

Light up a flat area of the swamp, wait for night (ideally a full moon), and slimes spawn on the surface at any light level below 7 - no slime chunk digging needed. Higher moon phases mean more slimes.