Renewable |
Yes |
---|---|
Tool |
None |
Blast resistance |
100 |
Hardness |
0 |
Luminant |
No |
Transparent |
Yes |
Flammable |
No |
Catches fire from lava |
No |
A bubble column is a block generated by placing magma blocks or soul sand in water (source). Bubble columns push or pull entities and items in certain directions.
Obtaining[]
Breaking[]
Bubble columns cannot be obtained as an item,[Java Edition only] and can be placed only by a block-placement command such as /setblock
.
In Bedrock Edition, it may be obtained as an item via inventory editing, add-ons, or bugs.
Natural generation[]

Java Edition bubble column. (Click to see the animation)
When generating the world, caves, aquifers and underwater ruins generate below the water surface. All bubble columns generate bubble column blocks until the column reaches the surface of the water or a solid block above the magma block.
Post-generation[]
When a magma block is placed underwater, a whirlpool bubble column is generated.
When soul sand is placed under source water blocks, an upward bubble column is generated.
Usage[]
Players and other air-breathing mobs can enter a bubble column to replenish their air supply, at the same speed that they would when they leave the water entirely. Water-breathing mobs avoid bubble columns because they suffocate if trapped in one. A bubble column is destroyed when moved by a piston. Bubble columns propagate only through water source blocks, stopping at any flowing water or waterlogged block. The height of a bubble column is limited only by the water's surface or by any obstructing blocks underwater.
Bubble columns cannot be created in downward flowing water.[1] Placing a kelp plant in downward-flowing water converts it into a source block.
Whirlpool[]
A whirlpool, or downward bubble column, is the most common type that generates in the Overworld, often originating from magma at the bottom of underwater canyons. A whirlpool can be identified by the presence of air bubbles wandering downward. They drag entities downward. A boat ridden over a whirlpool shakes and eventually sinks if kept above the whirlpool for too long.
Upward[]
Upward bubble columns can be identified by the presence of vertically rising air bubbles. An upward bubble column accelerates entities upward. The longer an object rises through the bubble column, the faster it travels. At high enough speeds, players and entities can be launched out of water by several blocks. Sitting on the surface above a rising bubble column causes entities to bounce upward repeatedly by about 1 block.
Transport[]
Entities move at a speed of approximately 11 blocks (meters) per second when ascending a bubble column or 4.9 blocks per second when descending a bubble column.
Sounds[]
Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bubbles pop | ? | ? | block.bubble_column.bubble_pop | subtitles.block.bubble_column.bubble_pop | 0.1 | ? | 16 | |
Bubbles flow | ? | ? | block.bubble_column.upwards_ambient | subtitles.block.bubble_column.upwards_ambient | 0.6 | ? | 16 | |
Bubbles woosh | ? | ? | block.bubble_column.upwards_inside | subtitles.block.bubble_column.upwards_inside | 0.7 | ? | 16 | |
Bubbles whirl | ? | ? | block.bubble_column.whirlpool_ambient | subtitles.block.bubble_column.whirlpool_ambient | 0.6 | ? | 16 | |
Bubbles zoom | ? | ? | block.bubble_column.whirlpool_inside | subtitles.block.bubble_column.whirlpool_inside | 0.7 | ? | 16 |
Data values[]
ID[]
Name | Identifier | Form | Translation key |
---|---|---|---|
Bubble Column | bubble_column | Block | block.minecraft.bubble_column |
Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bubble Column | bubble_column | 415 | Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2] | Identical[i 3] | — |
Block states[]
Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
---|---|---|---|
drag | true | false true | Determines whether the bubble column is upward or whirlpool. |
Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
drag_down | 0x1 | false | false true | 0 1 | Determines whether the bubble column is upward or whirlpool. |
History[]
November 18, 2017 | Bubble columns were shown in a video clip during MINECON Earth 2017. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Java Edition | |||||
1.13 | 18w07a | ![]() | |||
18w08a | Bubble columns now generate in underwater ravines. | ||||
18w09a | Bubble columns now generate in underwater ruins. | ||||
18w16a | Bubble columns can no longer be pushed by pistons. | ||||
Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.5.0 | beta 1.5.0.4 | ![]() ![]() | |||
beta 1.5.0.7 | ![]() | ||||
Legacy Console Edition | |||||
TU69 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | ![]() |
Bubble column "item"[]
- The following content is transcluded from Technical blocks/Bubble Column.
Bedrock Edition | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
? | Bubble columns exist as an item. |
Appearances[]
Bedrock Edition | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
? | ![]() |
Names[]
- ? - ?: tile.bubble_column.name
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Bubble Column" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Gallery[]
Bubble columns naturally generated as part of an ]s under water..
Java Edition[]
Bedrock Edition[]
References[]