Gold is most common at Y -16 (plus badlands gold). Enter your seed and this Gold Finder maps gold ore at 85% accuracy on Java 26.3 and 92% on Bedrock 1.26.51 — best Y level, spawn range and where to find gold, on a visual map.
Also called: gold ore finder · gold ore tracker · gold locator
Quick answer: Gold is most common at Y −16 and spawns from Y 32 down to Y −64, with extra gold throughout badlands biomes. This Gold Finder marks gold ore from your seed on a visual map at 85% accuracy on Java 26.3 and 92% on Bedrock 1.26.51.
| Edition | Version | Best Y level | Spawn range | Finder accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedrock | 1.18 – 26.51 (current) | Y −16 | Y 32 to −64 | 92% |
| Java | 1.20.2 – 26.3 (current) | Y −16 | Y 32 to −64 | 85% |
Accuracy is the share of marked hotspots that really contain the ore in your world, shown as a plain number.
Gold ore generates from Y 32 down to the world floor at Y −64, getting more common the deeper you go and peaking around Y −16. Badlands (mesa) biomes get a big bonus: extra gold spawns there at almost every height, even near the surface. The finder marks the chunks most likely to hold a vein.
The best Y level for gold is Y −16. Density rises toward the deepslate layers and peaks in the −16 band, so branch mining around Y −16 (down to about Y −48) gives the best return — unless you are in a badlands biome, where surface gold mining is faster.
Bedrock uses the same Y range and Y −16 sweet spot as Java, and the badlands bonus too. The finder supports Bedrock 1.26.51 at 92% accuracy — the badge by the page title shows both editions' figures.
Y −16, on Java 1.21 and Bedrock 1.21 alike — and on every version from 1.20.2 onward, because gold’s range (Y 32 to −64) and its peak have not moved. What changes is where you stand rather than which version you are on: badlands biomes generate extra gold at almost any height, so surface mining a mesa can out-earn a branch mine at Y −16.
Y-levels, drop rates, smelting and recipes for Gold — straight from our Minecraft catalog, in both editions.
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