Ocean

Ocean
Structures	Ocean Monument; Shipwreck; Ocean ruins; Mineshaft; Trial Chambers
Blocks	Water; Gravel; Sand; Dirt; Clay; Seagrass; Kelp
Climate
Temperature	0.5
Downfall	0.5
Precipitation	Yes
Colors
Grass color	; #8EB971
Foliage color	; #71A74D
Water color	; #3F76E4‌[JE only]; ; #1787D4‌[BE only]
Underwater fog color	; #050533‌[JE only]; ; #1165B0‌[BE only]

The ocean is an aquatic biome consisting of water. All oceans together are the largest biomes by area, covering anywhere around 28-29% of the surface area of the Overworld when factoring in all of its varieties and consist of a deep water source with the surface at an altitude of Y=62 by default, which is counted as the “sea level” layer of the world.

Description

Oceans are vast expanses of water, going from sea level all the way down to the ocean floor, which is at a depth of roughly Y=45 for normal oceans, or Y=30 for deep variants. The seafloor is fairly hilly, featuring multiple peaks and valleys, and is mostly covered by a one-block layer of gravel or sand, though some clay, dirt, gravel and sand patches may generate near the peaks. Canyons can occasionally generate on the ocean floor, forming underwater trenches. Some seafloor peaks may reach high enough to form islands on the surface of the ocean; these islands are typically small and may have very sparse vegetation with very little grass and oak trees. The seafloor is often covered with seagrass and kelp, with "forests" of kelp frequently reaching close to or even touching the water's surface. Fish, squid and dolphins frequently spawn within oceans. Shipwrecks and ocean ruins generate within all oceans, while deep ocean variants can occasionally generate ocean monuments. The regular ocean variant mainly generates when bordering on land, while deep variants generate when away from land.

Survival in ocean biomes themselves is impractical due to all the water. A player who camps on an island in the ocean faces a rather difficult situation. This means that whatever resources found on an island might be all the player has if the player is unwilling or unable to venture out. See the island survival article for more information.

Mobs

The following mobs are naturally spawned here:

In **Java Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₂₀	4
Skeleton	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₂₀	4
Slime^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₂₀	4
Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₂₀	4
Zombie	⁹⁵⁄₅₂₀	4
Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₂₀	1–4
Drowned	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Witch	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Zombie Villager	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6
Water creature category
Dolphin	¹⁄₂	1–2
Squid	¹⁄₂	1–4
Water ambient category
Cod	1	3–6
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

In **Bedrock Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₉₅	1
Drowned	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₉₅	2–4
Slime^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₉₅	1
Spider	¹⁰⁰⁄₅₉₅	1
Zombie	⁹⁵⁄₅₉₅	2–4
Skeleton	⁸⁰⁄₅₉₅	1–2
Enderman	¹⁰⁄₅₉₅	1–2
Witch	⁵⁄₅₉₅	1
Zombie Villager	⁵⁄₅₉₅	2–4
Creature category
Glow Squid	¹⁰⁄₂₅	2–4
Squid	⁸⁄₂₅	2–4
Dolphin	⁷⁄₂₅	3–5
Water creature category
Cod	⁷⁵⁄₁₀₁	4–7
Salmon	²⁶⁄₁₀₁	3–5

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Sounds

When in any ocean biome, unique ocean ambience play randomly. Normal overworld tracks also play, alongside "Axolotl", "Dragon Fish" and "Shuniji", as the requirements for those are merely to be underwater rather than biome-determined.

Ambience

List
Name	Sound	Group
Underwater Ambience		Loop
Bubbles 1		Loop Additions
Bubbles 2
Bubbles 3
Bubbles 4
Bubbles 5
Bubbles 6
Water 1
Water 2
Animal 1		Rare Loop Additions
Bass Whale 1
Bass Whale 2
Crackles 1
Crackles 2
Driplets 1
Driplets 2
Earth Crack
Animal 2		Ultra Rare Loop Additions
Dark 1
Dark 2
Dark 3
Dark 4

Music

Filename in Minecraft	Gameplay	Soundtrack Title	Soundtrack
Axolotl	Underwater	"Axolotl"	—
Dragon Fish	Underwater	"Dragon Fish"	—
Shuniji	Underwater	"Shuniji"	—

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	[hide]Translation key
Ocean	`ocean`	`biome.minecraft.ocean`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	[hide]Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`ocean`	`42`

Achievements

[hide]
Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		Sail the 7 Seas	Visit all ocean biomes	Visit all ocean biomes except the deep warm ocean/legacy frozen ocean (as they are unused).	40	Gold

Video

History

[hide]Java Edition Classic
0.0.12a							An infinite ocean now surrounds the map.
[hide]Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414							Added infinite worlds. Oceans generate as random parts of the terrain, similarly to mountains.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
1.8			Pre-release				As part of a terrain generation overhaul, oceans have been made into their own proper biome. Previously, oceans were not considered their own biome.
							The ocean level has been decreased by one block (64 to 63).
							Oceans have been made much larger and take up most of the map and their floors were made of a mix of clay, dirt and sand.
[hide]Java Edition
1.7.2			13w36a				Oceans have been made much smaller. In addition, oceans now only have gravel as the ocean floor. In contrast, old oceans had their floors made out of dirt, sand and clay.
1.8			14w25a				Added ocean monuments, which generate in oceans.
1.13			18w09a				Added underwater ruin structures, which generate in oceans.
1.13			18w11a				Added shipwrecks, which generate in oceans.
1.16			20w06a				Underwater ruins and shipwrecks are now rarer.
1.17			21w06a				Ocean biomes generate with a stone floor below Y=50 instead of a sand or gravel floor.^[1]
1.17			21w15a				Oceans generate with a sand or gravel floor once again.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				The temperature of ocean and land biomes are now interrelated, instead of completely independent.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0							Oceans generate as random parts of the terrain, similarly to mountains. In snowy biomes, ice generates on the surface.
v0.9.0			build 1				Ported all the biomes from Java Edition 1.7.2 and overhauled the terrain generation. As part of this, oceans have been made into their own proper biome.
v0.16.0			build 1				Added ocean monuments with guardians and elder guardians.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.4.0			beta 1.2.14.2				Added shipwrecks.
1.4.0			beta 1.2.20.1				Added underwater ruins.
1.17.0 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.230.56				All oceans generate with a stone floor below Y=51 instead of a sand or gravel floor behind the Caves & Cliffs experimental gameplay toggle.^[2] This does not occur in the Old world type.
1.17.30 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.17.30.23				All oceans generate with a sand or gravel floor once again.
[hide]Upcoming Bedrock Edition
1.21.60			Preview 1.21.60.23				Kelp now generates more frequently and in denser patches, except for in frozen ocean biomes.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU5	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	As part of a terrain generation overhaul, oceans have been made into their own proper biome.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3	1.0.1	Added ocean monuments.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Added shipwrecks, and underwater ruins.

Data history

[hide]Java Edition
1.13			17w47a				If numeric IDs for biomes were ever deprecated, it was most likely in this version.^[verify]

Issues

Issues relating to "Ocean" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

An ocean biome before The Update that Changed the World.
The view across an ocean with the maximum render distance.
A shipwreck and ravine at the bottom of an ocean.
An example of an ocean before Aquatic Update.
Sea pickles generating in an underground ravine.
A school of 6 cod swimming in an ocean.
A ravine, shipwreck, ruin, and dolphins beneath the surface of an ocean.
A ruined portal at the bottom of an ocean.
A view of kelp-filled oceans from the shore.
Ocean ruins and a small island visible at sunset.
A small island in the ocean.
A chunk border in the ocean.
In older versions, chunk errors like this were common.
A very small island.
An ocean's edge messed up by world blending in development.
A ring of small islands in the ocean.
Extremely small ocean biome, being surrounded by plains and looking like a deep lake.

References

↑ MC-214783 — Oceans generate with stone floors — resolved as "Fixed".
↑ MCPE-125235 — Ocean floors are generated with stone floors

Navigation

[Slime-1] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[Slime-2] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[3] MC-214783 — Oceans generate with stone floors — resolved as "Fixed".

[4] MCPE-125235 — Ocean floors are generated with stone floors

[note 1]

[note 1]

[1]

[2]