Cold Ocean

Cold Ocean
Structures	Shipwreck; Ocean Ruins
Blocks	Gravel; Seagrass; Kelp; Grass Block
Climate
Temperature	0.5
Downfall	0.5
Precipitation	Yes
Colors
Grass color	; #8EB971
Foliage color	; #71A74D
Dry foliage color	; #A17448
Water color	; #3D57D6‌[JE only]; ; #2080C9‌[BE only]
Water fog color	; #050533‌[JE only]; ; #14559B‌[BE only]
Vibrant Visuals
Atmospherics	Default
Lighting	Cold
Volumetric fog	Default
Color grading	Coolish

The cold ocean is a variant of the ocean biome with slightly less underwater vegetation. It generates near cold biomes and has a deep variant.

Generation

Cold oceans replace oceans at moderately cold temperatures, often near taigas and old growth taigas. As a shallow ocean, they can border coastal biomes but never mushroom fields. Cold oceans border deep cold oceans when continentalness decreases. Cold oceans transition to regular oceans when temperature increases, or frozen oceans when temperature decreases.

Lush caves may generate underground if humidity is high. Where weirdness is low, sulfur caves can generate, while ice caves may form where weirdness is high.^{[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026]}

Description

The cold ocean uses a dark indigo water color at the surface. Like regular oceans, its floor is made up mainly of gravel. The vegetation in cold oceans has less seagrass compared to other ocean variants.

The same mobs as in regular oceans spawn here, namely salmon, cod, and dolphins.‌^{[BE only]} Ocean ruins use their cold variant and shipwrecks are common. Occasional islands in cold oceans are covered by grass blocks with default vegetation.

With Vibrant Visuals, cold oceans use default environmental settings with a coolish color grading, making the biome appear colder blue. They use cold sunlight, which is slightly brighter at dusk and dawn.

Mobs

The following mobs naturally spawn 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^{[note 2]}	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Witch	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Zombie Villager	⁵⁄₅₂₀	1
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6
Water creature category
Nautilus	³⁄₆	1–3
Squid	³⁄₆	1–4
Water ambient category
Cod	¹⁵⁄₃₀	3–6
Salmon	¹⁵⁄₃₀	1–5
Ambient category
Bat	1	8

↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.
↑ Adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.

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

↑ Adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.
↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Sounds

Music

These music tracks when the player is underwater in a cold ocean:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
Axolotl		1	33.33%	1	33.33%
Dragon Fish		1	33.33%	1	33.33%
Shuniji		1	33.33%	1	33.33%

These music tracks play while the player is not underwater in a cold ocean:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
A Familiar Room		1	2.70%	—	—
Below and Above		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Broken Clocks		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Clark		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Comforting Memories		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Danny		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Dry Hands		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Ebb		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Featherfall		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Fireflies		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Floating Dream		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Haggstrom		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Home		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Key		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
komorebi		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Left to Bloom		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Lilypad		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Living Mice		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Memories		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Mice on Venus		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Minecraft		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Nightly		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
One More Day		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
O's Piano		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Oxygène		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Puzzlebox		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Shores		2	5.41%	2	5.56%
Subwoofer Lullaby		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Sweden		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Watcher		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
Wet Hands		1	2.70%	1	2.78%
yakusoku		1	2.70%	1	2.78%

In Creative mode, the following tracks can play:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
Aria Math		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Biome Fest		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Blind Spots		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Dreiton		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Haunt Muskie		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Taswell		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Key		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Subwoofer Lullaby		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Living Mice		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Haggstrom		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Minecraft		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Oxygène		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Mice on Venus		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Dry Hands		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Wet Hands		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Clark		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Sweden		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Danny		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Left to Bloom		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
One More Day		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Floating Dream		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Comforting Memories		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
A Familiar Room		1	3.03%	—	—
Featherfall		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Watcher		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Puzzlebox		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
komorebi		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
yakusoku		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Lilypad		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Below and Above		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
O's Piano		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Broken Clocks		1	3.03%	1	3.13%
Fireflies		1	3.03%	1	3.13%

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Translation key
Cold Ocean	`cold_ocean`	`biome.minecraft.cold_ocean`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`cold_ocean`	`46`

Biome definition

This section is a work in progress.

Anyone is encouraged to edit this page and add more content into the topic.
Additional note: To be converted to standard JSON tree view - see Forum:Include enchantment, biome and dimension definitions in the Data values section for project info

Press "show" to display json contents

{
  "attributes": {
    "minecraft:audio/background_music": {
      "creative": {
        "max_delay": 24000,
        "min_delay": 12000,
        "sound": "minecraft:music.creative"
      },
      "default": {
        "max_delay": 24000,
        "min_delay": 12000,
        "sound": "minecraft:music.game"
      },
      "underwater": {
        "max_delay": 24000,
        "min_delay": 12000,
        "sound": "minecraft:music.under_water"
      }
    },
    "minecraft:gameplay/natural_mob_spawns": {
      "argument": {
        "spawn_costs": {},
        "spawns_by_category": {
          "ambient": [
            {
              "type": "minecraft:bat",
              "count": 8,
              "weight": 10
            }
          ],
          "monster": [
            {
              "type": "minecraft:spider",
              "count": 4,
              "weight": 100
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:zombie",
              "count": 4,
              "weight": 95
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:zombie_villager",
              "count": 1,
              "weight": 5
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:skeleton",
              "count": 4,
              "weight": 100
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:creeper",
              "count": 4,
              "weight": 100
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:slime",
              "count": 4,
              "weight": 100
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:enderman",
              "count": {
                "type": "minecraft:uniform",
                "max_inclusive": 4,
                "min_inclusive": 1
              },
              "weight": 10
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:witch",
              "count": 1,
              "weight": 5
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:drowned",
              "count": 1,
              "weight": 5
            }
          ],
          "underground_water_creature": [
            {
              "type": "minecraft:glow_squid",
              "count": {
                "type": "minecraft:uniform",
                "max_inclusive": 6,
                "min_inclusive": 4
              },
              "weight": 10
            }
          ],
          "water_ambient": [
            {
              "type": "minecraft:cod",
              "count": {
                "type": "minecraft:uniform",
                "max_inclusive": 6,
                "min_inclusive": 3
              },
              "weight": 15
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:salmon",
              "count": {
                "type": "minecraft:uniform",
                "max_inclusive": 5,
                "min_inclusive": 1
              },
              "weight": 15
            }
          ],
          "water_creature": [
            {
              "type": "minecraft:squid",
              "count": {
                "type": "minecraft:uniform",
                "max_inclusive": 4,
                "min_inclusive": 1
              },
              "weight": 3
            },
            {
              "type": "minecraft:nautilus",
              "count": 1,
              "weight": 2
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "modifier": "overlay"
    },
    "minecraft:visual/sky_color": "#7ba4ff"
  },
  "carvers": [
    "minecraft:cave",
    "minecraft:cave_extra_underground",
    "minecraft:canyon"
  ],
  "downfall": 0.5,
  "effects": {
    "water_color": "#3d57d6"
  },
  "features": [
    [],
    [
      "minecraft:lake_lava_underground",
      "minecraft:lake_lava_surface"
    ],
    [
      "minecraft:amethyst_geode"
    ],
    [
      "minecraft:monster_room",
      "minecraft:monster_room_deep"
    ],
    [],
    [],
    [
      "minecraft:ore_dirt",
      "minecraft:ore_gravel",
      "minecraft:ore_granite_upper",
      "minecraft:ore_granite_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_diorite_upper",
      "minecraft:ore_diorite_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_andesite_upper",
      "minecraft:ore_andesite_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_tuff",
      "minecraft:ore_coal_upper",
      "minecraft:ore_coal_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_iron_upper",
      "minecraft:ore_iron_middle",
      "minecraft:ore_iron_small",
      "minecraft:ore_gold",
      "minecraft:ore_gold_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_redstone",
      "minecraft:ore_redstone_lower",
      "minecraft:ore_diamond",
      "minecraft:ore_diamond_medium",
      "minecraft:ore_diamond_large",
      "minecraft:ore_diamond_buried",
      "minecraft:ore_lapis",
      "minecraft:ore_lapis_buried",
      "minecraft:ore_copper",
      "minecraft:underwater_magma",
      "minecraft:disk_sand",
      "minecraft:disk_clay",
      "minecraft:disk_gravel"
    ],
    [],
    [
      "minecraft:spring_water",
      "minecraft:spring_lava"
    ],
    [
      "minecraft:glow_lichen",
      "minecraft:trees_water",
      "minecraft:flower_default",
      "minecraft:patch_grass_badlands",
      "minecraft:brown_mushroom_normal",
      "minecraft:red_mushroom_normal",
      "minecraft:patch_pumpkin",
      "minecraft:patch_sugar_cane",
      "minecraft:patch_firefly_bush_near_water",
      "minecraft:seagrass_cold",
      "minecraft:kelp_cold"
    ],
    [
      "minecraft:freeze_top_layer"
    ]
  ],
  "has_precipitation": true,
  "temperature": 0.5
}

Achievements


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)
		Adventuring Time	Discover 17 biomes.	Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world.	40	Silver
		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

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Adventuring Time	Discover every biome	Visit all of these 56^{[until: Fourth Drop 2026]}/57^[upcoming] biomes: Badlands Bamboo Jungle Beach Birch Forest Cherry Grove Cold Ocean Dappled Forest Dark Forest Deep Cold Ocean Deep Dark Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Deep Ocean Desert Dripstone Caves Eroded Badlands Flower Forest Forest Frozen Ocean Frozen Peaks Frozen River Grove Ice Caves Ice Spikes Jagged Peaks Jungle Lukewarm Ocean Lush Caves Mangrove Swamp Meadow Mushroom Fields Ocean Old Growth Birch Forest Old Growth Pine Taiga Old Growth Spruce Taiga Pale Garden Plains River Savanna Savanna Plateau Snowy Beach Snowy Plains Snowy Slopes Snowy Taiga Sparse Jungle Stony Peaks Stony Shore Sunflower Plains Sulfur Caves Swamp Taiga Warm Ocean Windswept Forest Windswept Gravelly Hills Windswept Hills Windswept Savanna Wooded Badlands The advancement is only for Overworld biomes. Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.

Videos

History

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.13	18w08a	Added ocean variants, including cold ocean.
	18w09a	Added underwater ruin structures, which generate in all oceans.
	18w10a	Cold ocean is now required for the "Adventuring Time" advancement.
	18w11a	Added shipwrecks, which generate in all oceans.
	18w15a	Ocean variants now have their own water colors.
1.16	20w06a	Underwater ruins and shipwrecks are now rarer.
1.17	21w06a	Cold ocean biomes generate with a stone floor below Y=50 instead of a gravel floor.^[1]
1.17	21w15a	Cold oceans generate with a gravel floor once again.

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
1.4.0	beta 1.2.14.2	Added cold oceans.
	beta 1.2.14.2	Added shipwrecks.
	beta 1.2.20.1	Added underwater ruins.
1.17.0 Experiment Caves and Cliffs	beta 1.16.230.56	Cold oceans generate with a stone floor below Y=51 instead of a 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	Cold oceans generate with a gravel floor once again.
1.21.60	Preview 1.21.60.23	Kelp now generates more frequently and in denser patches.
1.21.90	Preview 1.21.90.26	Added coolish color grading and cold lighting to cold oceans with Vibrant Visuals.
26.50	Preview 26.50.22	Bats now spawn in cold oceans.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Added ocean variants, including cold oceans.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Added shipwrecks, and underwater ruins.

Data history

Java Edition
1.18			21w37a				Prior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 46.

Issues

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

Gallery

Screenshots

A cold ocean next to a taiga in the Taiga Bay seed template thumbnail
A cold ocean single biome world

Historical screenshots

A cold ocean single biome world before 1.18
A cold ocean with ray tracing

References

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

External links

"Around the Block: Cold Ocean" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, March 3, 2023.

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

[Drowned-2] Adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.

[Drowned-3] Adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.

[Slime-4] Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

[5] MC-214783 – Oceans generate with stone floors – resolved as "Fixed".

[6] MCPE-125235 – Ocean floors are generated with stone floors

[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 1]

[note 2]

[1]

[2]

v t e Ocean
Biomes	Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Deep Warm Ocean
Environment	Ruins Cold Warm Shipwreck Monument Coral Reef
Blocks	Water Gravel Sand Ice Coral Coral Block Coral Fan Sea Pickle Seagrass Kelp Magma Block
Mobs	Cod Tropical Fish Drowned Dolphin Pufferfish Salmon Squid Nautilus Zombie Nautilus Coral Jockey