Subterranean Expansion | Cave Update
by Desblivion
Subterranean Expansion | Cave Update changes underground caves in the overworld by adding stalagmites and stalactites made from vanilla and some custom stone variants.
What it does
Caves in the overworld gain new natural features. Stone, mossy stone, granite, diorite, andesite, deepslate, tuff and sandstone stalagmites and stalactites appear inside cave environments, bringing the cave update that many players asked for. Each stone type has its own pair of formations, so caves built from different rock look distinct.
The mod is built for Forge, with a NeoForge file for 1.21.1, and the author states that the Forge 1.20.1 build is the one developed in the current series. Files cover 1.20.1 and 1.21.1. Installation covers the server and each player's game. The code is not open source; the project is under All rights reserved, and issues are tracked on its public issue tracker, where suggestions can be filed with a suggestion tag.
Key features
Stone stalagmites
Stalagmites rise from cave floors in the stone, sandstone and deepslate variants, adding vertical detail underground.
Stone stalactites
Stalactites hang from cave ceilings in the same stone types, pairing with the floor formations.
Mossy and mineral variants
Mossy stone, granite, diorite, andesite and tuff formations give caves more colour and texture where those stones occur.
Custom stone support
Some custom stone variants from other mods also receive stalagmites and stalactites.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Subterranean Wilderness Revival is a Forge and NeoForge mod for 1.20.1 – 1.21.1, released under the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 license and not open source. Mox' Masonry also runs on Forge and NeoForge, is client and server, and covers 1.20.1 – 1.21.8, under All rights reserved. YUNG's Better Caves is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only and is server-side only, with files for 1.20.1 – 26.1.2, so players join without installing it.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subterranean Expansion | Cave Update | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-17 |
| Subterranean Wilderness Revival | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-04-24 |
| Mox' Masonry | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2026-03-22 |
| YUNG's Better Caves | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 26.1.2 | Server-side only | 2026-09-04 |
Questions
Does Subterranean Expansion need Forge or NeoForge?
Does the server need Subterranean Expansion?
Is there a version for 1.21.1?
In the catalog
Subterranean Expansion | Cave Update is one of 8,515 World generation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 5,058 World generation mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Subterranean Expansion enhances the underground experience of vanilla caves by introducing new natural features and unique cave environments to bring you the cave update we all actually wanted. Stalagmites and Stalactites of all vanilla stone variants, and even some custom stone variants.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/subterranean-expansion
- Owner
- Desblivion
- Published
- 2025-06-02
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-17
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15