Minecraft wiki entry for Desert, associated text: Deserts are more likely to generate in areas with high erosion values, which means that the terrain in which they generate is generally flat but with occasional hills, similar to the ones found in windswept hills biomes. Deserts can also generate in lower erosions but usally as a separation between a badlands biome and the oceans. Deserts can also generate at any humidity value, and at high humidities, lush caves can sometimes generate underneath deserts.