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Altitude is commonly expressed as a number defining the distance in layers above the base of the game environment, which is Layer zero (0). Sea Level is recognized as Layer 64, and the top of the game environment is Layer 127. Specifically, the bottom face of the bottommost bedrock block is at Y coordinate 0. This block is said to be in Layer 0. The top face of the highest block that can be placed is at Y coordinate 128. This block is said to be in Layer 127. The player can press F3 to see what Y coordinate the player's eye is currently at, with the player's eye located 1.6 blocks above the layer the player is standing on. For example, a player standing on a shore of an ocean will see their Y coordinate as approximately 65.6.

This range of numbers can be expressed in only 8 bits, a very common limit to many programming languages and applications.

Natural resources and altitude

Landscape features are found at different altitudes, as shown in this graph:

File:Blockcount.beta.1.2.png

Beware the logarithmic scale: a slight difference in the y coordinate means a large increase in relative frequency of this block type.

See the following table for a textual description of resources by altitude and tools needed to gather them.

Landscape Feature Commonly found up to… Rare between… None above… Implement needed to obtain
Coal ore Layer 128 Layer 129-131[1] Layer 132[1] Wood or better pickaxe
Gravel Layer 128 Layer 129-131[1] Layer 132[1] None
Dirt Layer 128 Layer 129-131[1] Layer 132[1] None
Sand Layer 80 Layer 81-112 Layer 113 None
Water Layer 64 n/a n/a Bucket
Iron ore Layer 64 Layer 65-67 Layer 68 Stone or better pickaxe
Gold ore Layer 32 Layer 33-35 Layer 36 Iron or better pickaxe
Lapis Lazuli ore Layer 32 Layer 33-35 Layer 36 Stone or better pickaxe
Lava Layer 16 Layer 17-68 Layer 69 Bucket
Obsidian Layer 16 Layer 17-64 Layer 65 Diamond pickaxe
Diamond ore Layer 16 Layer 17-19 Layer 20 Iron or better pickaxe
Redstone ore[2] Layer 16 Layer 17-19 Layer 20 Iron or better pickaxe
Bedrock Layer 1 Layer 2-4 Layer 5 n/a
  1. a b c d e f These points are above the maximum map height, and were extrapolated based on the pattern of (2^n, [2^n]+1 to [2^n]+3, [2^n]+4). Lava, which has been witnessed rarely at the surface seems to break this pattern.
  2. Redstone has the same layer and line-size statistics as Diamond, but is generated 8 times per chunk as opposed to 1.


Other naturally occurring features appear at different altitudes such as grass, wood, flowers, mushrooms, clay, cobble, sugar cane and Obsidian, but all of these features are random and must appear in conjunction with another block and the proper environment to appear.

Feature Requires
Grass Dirt and Light
Sugar Cane Dirt and Water
Wood Dirt and Light
Cactus Sand
Flowers Dirt and Light
Mushrooms Dry land and darkness
Clay Water and Sand
Obsidian Lava and Water
Cobble Lava and Water or Dungeons
Mossy Cobblestone Dungeons

Trivia

  • When at the highest level of a map in Beta, the edges of the screen will fade to black, simulating thinning air.[citation needed]
  • Although the maximum height a player can reach through the use of blocks is at layer 130 (stand on a block at layer 127, jump), you can still make a TNT cannon blasting the player upwards to go many layers past the sky level. Similarly, falling into the Void will have the player go many blocks under the lowest layer in the map.

Similarly, mods that allow the player to fly will allow you to go above the normal limit. When the player goes too high, the world fades from view quite rapidly, leaving them surrounded by a deeper blue, similar to the Void. If they fly downwards, or turn off the flying ability, they will fall back to the normal world (certainly dying from fall damage unless protected).

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