Minecraft wiki entry for Infdev_20100327_to_Beta_1.7.3, associated text: It covers an interval of [−231, 231) without causing any problems. The problem is that many of the octaves cover a scale much smaller than a block, with up to 171.103 noise units per block. Indeed, 231 ≈ 171.103×12,550,824.053. Thus, the effects of the Far Lands start 12,550,824 blocks away from the center of the Minecraft world. Once this value is exceeded, the integer is always 231−1, picking the same noise values on that axis every time. This is the reason for the long unchanging tunnels in the Edge Far Lands, and plains in the Corner Far Lands.