November 5, 2025
Rock and block shock
3D Geological Models in Minecraft
Dig Britain’s hidden layers—fans want Everest, creators want CC
TLDR: Five UK geology worlds hit Minecraft, letting players see underground layers through glass and even tour a student-built volcano. Comments hyped Everest-scale builds, shared a geologist YouTuber, and pushed for Creative Commons licensing so teachers and modders can remix without legal headaches
Minecraft just got a geology glow-up: five downloadable worlds reveal the UK’s underground bones in see-through glass, from Glasgow’s shallow soils to ancient Carboniferous rock, plus a simplified whole-of-Great-Britain map and a volcano crafted by Nottingham students. The spawn point even explains which block equals which rock, and yes, you can literally fall between layers like an x-ray ride. The crowd reaction? A mix of giddy field trip energy and practical questions. One excited fan dropped an Mt Everest recreation as inspiration, while another shouted out a YouTuber geologist, @gneissname, turning the thread into an impromptu study hall. The hottest debate sparked when someone asked, “Are the materials Creative Commons?”—cue modders and teachers wanting to remix, stream, and assign homework without legal lava flows. Folks cheered the clever use of 16 glass colors to mimic real map palettes, and loved the instant underground view that makes geology feel like a superpower. With real sites like Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales and the Vale of York’s glacial deposits over Triassic bedrock, the vibe is half science class, half sandbox adventure. The community wants more—Everest-scale epics, global maps, and crystal-clear reuse rights to keep the learning party going
Key Points
- •Five downloadable Minecraft worlds visualize UK geology: four local sites and one simplified model of mainland Great Britain.
- •Models use colored glass blocks to represent geological units, enabling visibility through layers and exploration of subsurface geology.
- •Each world includes a spawn point with informational signage, navigation aids, and topography such as roads and buildings.
- •Glasgow’s model includes superficial geology (including artificial ground) and Carboniferous bedrock (Upper Coal Measures).
- •Highlighted areas include Ingleborough (1:250,000 scale, 18 km²) and a 50 km² area near York (including Haxby) in the Vale of York.