Altitude

Chart lining up Y-coordinate values (left) to block layers (right) (not to scale).

Altitude is a measurement of vertical distance, or distance along the Y-axis.

Definition

Altitude is defined as "the height of anything above a given planetary reference plane, especially above sea level on earth."

In Minecraft, altitude is often expressed as the bottom face of a block layer, where the lowest block that can be placed is at layer -64 and has a Y-coordinate of −64. For instance, sea level is at layer 62, while clouds appear at layer 191).

This is not to be confused with altitude when otherwise expressed as the top face of a block layer, where the lowest block that can be placed is at layer -63 and has a Y-coordinate of -63. For example, sea level is at layer 63, while clouds appear at layer 192. This is akin to calling the ground level story the "first floor" (top face of a block layer), rather than the "ground floor" (bottom face of a block layer). The player can press F3 to see the Y-coordinate of the top face of a block they are on top of.

Altitude expressed as the bottom face of a block layer is most useful for identifying the position of blocks, such as when using /fill to replace block(s). Expressing altitude as the top face of a block layer is more useful for identifying the position of entities, such as when using /tp to teleport or /summon to spawn an entity/entities. For instance, the topmost block of water in an ocean biome has a Y-coordinate of 62; in a frozen ocean biome, ice replaces water at sea level, and the lowest height where terrestrial mobs will spawn is at layer 63.

Features and effects by height

Y-coordinate	Feature or effect
21024/Approximately 1.8 × 10308, or 180 uncentillion	Largest height Minecraft can distinguish from infinity, Java's Double.MAX_VALUE.
36,028,797,018,963,968	Above this height, players cannot move vertically except using NBT editors.
4,503,599,627,370,496	Maximum height reachable by flying, the point where the Double datatype stops growing in steps of 0.5.
2,147,483,647	In Bedrock Edition, the game crashes beyond this point.
30,000,000	The maximum height the player can teleport to.
2,032	Top face of the highest block that can be placed in a Custom world generated with the maximum build height.
384	Highest level where iron ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
320	Top face of the highest block that can be placed in the Overworld.
	Highest layer where coal ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
	Highest layer where emerald ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
256	Naturally-generated terrain appears to be capped at this height, excepting Amplified worlds.
	Top face of the highest block that can be placed in the Nether‌ and the End.
255	Highest layer where dirt and gravel can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
232	Iron ore and emerald ore generate most commonly at this level.
191–195	Range of cloud layers.
127	Full bedrock layer in the Nether.
	Highest layer where nether quartz ore, nether gold ore, and ancient debris can generate, replacing netherrack, basalt, and blackstone.
	In Bedrock Edition, this is the bottom face of the highest block that can be placed in the Nether.
123–126	Range of partial bedrock layers in the Nether.
79	Highest layer where gold ore within badlands biomes, granite, diorite, and andesite can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
75	All 20 end gateways on the main End island generate at this height.
50–70	Range of layers where slimes are able to spawn in swamps.
63	Highest layer where infested stone within mountains biomes, iron ore, and lapis lazuli ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
62	Sea level.
	Phantoms only spawn if players are above this level.
40	Highest layer where slimes are able to spawn within "slime chunks" outside of swamps.
36	Highest layer where gravel and blackstone can generate, replacing netherrack, basalt, and blackstone.
31	Highest layer where gold ore outside of badlands biomes can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite; lowest layer where emerald ore within mountains biomes can generate.
	Lava sea level in the Nether.
15	Highest layer where redstone ore and diamond ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
1-7	Partial layers of deepslate in the Overworld in Java Edition.
1–4	Partial layers of bedrock in the Nether.
0	Full bedrock layer in the Nether.
	Deepslate replaces stone below this layer in Java Edition.
	Lowest layer where coal ore can generate.
	Some aquifers below this layer can be filled with lava instead of water.
0 to -7	Partial layers of deepslate in the Overworld in Bedrock Edition.
-8	Deepslate replaces stone below this layer in Bedrock Edition.
-16	Lowest layer where emerald ore can generate.
-51	The floor of ancient cities always generates at this layer.
−54	Lava replaces air below this layer (i.e. players must dig deep manually in order not to contact with lava).
−59 to −63	Partial layers of bedrock in the Overworld.
−64	Full layer of bedrock in the Overworld.
	Bottom face of the lowest block that can be placed.
−104	An invisible border prevents players from falling in Bedrock Edition.
−128	Players below this height take void damage in Java Edition. This damage cannot be prevented or mitigated, but commands can provide enough Regeneration to survive it. Non-player entities falling below this height despawn instantly.
−2,032	Bottom face of the lowest block that can be generated in a Custom world with the maximum build height.
−65,536	Upper limit of the bottom face of the lowest temporary (isn't saved) block that can be placed in a Custom world (the lower it is, the slower the game runs). However, it can only be accessed through external programs.
−16,777,216	In Bedrock Edition, the player cannot fly below this layer. Every second block is invalid; because players are 2 blocks tall, it is impossible to enter. If bypassed via commands, the player experiences extreme jitter and camera movement.
−30,000,000	The minimum height the player can teleport to.

Natural resources and altitude

Features in the landscape of the Overworld are found at different altitudes, as shown in the graph below for Java Edition 1.20.2.

Note that these charts utilize the logarithmic scale, which means a slight difference in the Y-coordinate represents a large change in the relative frequency of a block type. Also note that normal and deepslate ore variants have been combined in the chart. Interactive versions of these graphs containing all blocks can be found here.

The Nether

A similar graph, showing the distribution of blocks unique to the Nether (Java Edition 1.20.2):

The End

A similar graph, showing the distribution of blocks unique to the End (Java Edition 1.20.2):

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other
		Caves & Cliffs	Freefall from the top of the world (build limit) to the bottom of the world and survive.	—	30G	Gold
		Star trader	Trade with a villager at the build height limit.	Trade with a villager at y320.	20G	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
	Caves & Cliffs	Free fall from the top of the world (build limit) to the bottom of the world and survive	Adventure	Fall from at least y=319 to at most y=-59 with a vertical distance of greater than 379 blocks.	adventure/fall_from_world_height
	Star Trader	Trade with a Villager at the build height limit	What a Deal!	Stand on any block that is higher than 318 and trade with a villager or wandering trader.	adventure/trade_at_world_height

History

A screenshot shown by Notch of an experimental 512-block-high world.

The first screenshot shown by Jeb of a 256-block-high world.

Java Edition Classic
?					The altitude of the map was 64 blocks total. Players could build 32 blocks up or down from sea level. The altitude was measured from the eye level, resulting in height being 1.62000000476837 blocks higher than at feet level.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1					Height limit was raised to 128.
					During the development of this version, it was raised to 256.
Java Edition Beta
1.6		Test Build 3			Solid blocks can no longer be placed on layer 127. However, beds, signs, torches and other non-solid blocks can be placed on layer 127.
					Entities are no longer invisible when above the build limit; instead, they turn black.
July 19, 2011					Notch, on his Twitter feed before the Adventure Update, posted a picture showing his experimentation with height limits and terrain generation up to 512, featuring a mountain much higher than normal mountains.
1.8		Pre-release			Added altitude-based void fog.
					Previously, the sea level was at layer 63. Now, it is at layer 62. Worlds created before this update generate one-block-high "waterfalls" at the boundary between previously-generated terrain and new, post-Beta 1.8 terrain.
Java Edition
1.2.1		12w07a			The height limit was doubled from 127 to 255, although structures did not yet generate above this layer.
					The change in height was introduced along with the switch from the Region file format to the new Anvil file format.
1.7.2		13w36a			Amplified world type added (attempts to use the full 255 height).
1.8					Eye level altitude measurement was removed.
1.8.2		pre7			Raised the build limit from 255 to 256 and prevented non-solid blocks from being placed one block higher.
1.11		16w32a			The height limit message now appears on top of the hotbar, the place where the message "Press LSHIFT to dismount" also appears when riding a mob.
1.14		18w43a			Light is no longer observable above 2,048 blocks.
1.17		20w49a			The height limit can now be increased in the custom worlds settings. Because of errors, it can be increased only up to 512 and down to −256 below bedrock.
		?			Fixed those above errors.
		21w06a			The world has been extended 64 blocks in both (vertical) directions, making it possible to build from layer −64 to layer 319 in the Overworld. This effectively increases the world to 383 buildable layers.
		21w15a			The world height changes have been reverted.
1.18		Experimental Snapshot 1			Re-introduced previous changes to world height, which were only available through certain snapshots and the preview data pack prior to this experimental snapshot.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0					The altitude of the map was 127 blocks total. Players could build 64 blocks up or down from sea level.
v0.9.0		build 1			Previously, the sea level was at layer 63. Now, it is at layer 62. Worlds created before this update generate one-block-high "waterfalls" at the boundary between previously-generated terrain and new, post-0.9.0 terrain.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0		alpha 0.17.0.1			The height limit was doubled from 127 to 255, with the exception of the Nether and Old world types. However, terrain (excluding structures) generates only up to the old height limit.
Bedrock Edition
Caves & Cliffs (experimental)		beta 1.16.220.50			Increased height limit from 255 to 319 blocks behind Experimental Gameplay.
		beta 1.16.220.52			The world has been extended 64 blocks downwards from layer 0 to layer -64. This effectively increases the world to 383 buildable layers.
1.17.10		release			The height limit changes are now available outside the beta version, behind experimental gameplay toggle.
1.18.0		beta 1.18.0.20			The height limit changes are now available by default without enabling experimental gameplay.

Issues

Issues relating to "Altitude" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• The highest possible altitude the player can legitimately climb to is Y = 320, although explosions, elytra launchers, piston slime block bounces, Riptide tridents, and wind charges can all propel the player far beyond this limit.
• In Java Edition, mushrooms can appear on the Nether's bedrock ceiling.
• Block generation and player construction below and above the build limits can be achieved only through modifying the dimension properties, or mods, such as the Cubic Chunks mod.
• The reasoning behind Custom worlds having height limits of ±2032 rather than ±2048 (a binary number notated as 2¹¹) is because the lighting system still applies 16 blocks above and below the world, but the Y-coordinates of blocks (which are also used in the lighting calculation) are stored internally using only 12 bits. Therefore, having limits of ±2048 would prevent the lighting system from functioning correctly.

Gallery

• 
  Bedrock floor generating as low as Y = −2048 in a Custom world with decreased min_y.
• 
  Lowest placeable temporary block in a Custom world, at which point the game was unplayable.

See also

• Chunk
• Void
• Amplified

References

Environment 

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