How deep is buried treasure in Minecraft?

In Minecraft, buried treasure is the sole source of Hearts of the Sea, a requirement to create conduits. It is often found on the beaches and oceans of the game world.

Many players have sought out buried treasure in order to rack up loot items, but it can sometimes be a little tricky to find the chests themselves.

Depending on how buried treasure generates, it can be found at varying height levels. It can also be buried under different block types, including sand, gravel, and even stone.

But how deep do these treasure chests rest in a Minecraft world? The answer, more or less, is a little complicated.

Note: This article solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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The depths where buried treasure can be found in Minecraft

Using treasure maps is an excellent way to find buried treasure (Image via Mojang)

When buried treasure generates in Minecraft, it is technically generated as a structure. In nearly every situation, buried treasure will be covered by certain terrain blocks (though they occasionally appear exposed in the open).

Typically, this means the treasure is buried in sand or gravel since they appear most often on beaches and in ocean biomes.

In beach biomes, buried treasure chests tend to generate only a few height levels down from the surface of the beach itself. However, when generating in ocean biomes, the chests can often be found on the seafloor, placing them several height levels below the ground, depending on the ocean biome.

Overall, the game's terrain generation code doesn't send particularly restrictive rules on how deep treasure chests can appear.

Many players have shared that in their experience, buried treasure generates roughly 40 blocks below the ground level. However, due to the way the game creates terrain, it's also possible to find these chests at higher or lower elevations.

With that being said, there are certain rules that players can utilize to their advantage when searching for treasure chests.

Specifically, in Minecraft: Java Edition, buried treasure will always generate at the X and Z level of 9 in a given chunk. For Bedrock Edition, the principle is essentially the same, though the buried treasure will be found at the X/Z coordinate of 8 instead.

Once players find the right X and Z-axis coordinates, they can simply begin to dig down and see what they find. If nothing of value pops up, players can move on to the next chunk.

If PC players are curious about where each chunk in their world begins and ends, they can press F3 + G, which will mark the chunk borders for viewing.