Altitude

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."Dictionary.com Unabridged, "altitude", accessed April 10, 2016
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 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 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 to teleport or 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
/Approximately 1.8 × , or 180 uncentillion	Largest height Minecraft can distinguish from infinity, Java's . – "Player unable to turn when at Y: Infinity" resolved as "Won't Fix"
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 datatype stops growing in steps of 0.5.
2,147,483,647 	, 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.
320 	Highest layer where coal ore can generate, replacing stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
320 	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.
256 	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.https://gist.github.com/tryashtar/2a22bd04394275fefb6b49c348758fd6
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.
127 	Highest layer where nether quartz ore, nether gold ore, and ancient debris can generate, replacing netherrack, basalt, and blackstone.
127 	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.
62 	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.
31 	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.
0 	Deepslate replaces stone below this layer in Java Edition.
0 	Lowest layer where coal ore can generate.
0 	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.
−64 	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 ==
== Advancements ==
== Video ==
== History ==
==Issues==
==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.
*, 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 ) 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.https://bugs.mojang.com/browse/MC-212347?focusedCommentId=911611&page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels%3Acomment-tabpanel#comment-911611
==Gallery==
File:Lowest bedrock generation in an extreme Custom world.png|Bedrock floor generating as low as Y = −2048 in a Custom world with decreased min_y.
File:Lowest possible block in a Custom world.png|Lowest placeable temporary block in a Custom world, at which point the game was unplayable.
==See also==
*Chunk
*Void
*Amplified
==References==
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