Where to find emerald ores in Minecraft 1.19 update

Emeralds are one of the rarest resources in Minecraft. While diamonds are used far more widely than emeralds, the latter, in its naturally generated form, is harder to find in the game.

Emerald ore is the source of emeralds. Similar to diamond ore, emerald ore needs to be mined using a pickaxe that is made from a material that is stronger than stone, like iron, diamond, or Netherite.

When mined without using the Silk Touch enchantment, an emerald ore block drops an emerald. When mined using Silk Touch, however, it drops itself. The block can later be smelted in a furnace to produce emeralds.

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How and where to find emerald ore in Minecraft 1.19

Emerald ore has stayed the same since Minecraft 1.17 when its spawning height was changed. The ore is now generated in the mountainous biomes of the game, like the extreme hills biome.

Aside from the mountains, it can also generate in the Windswept Hills biome and the various mountain sub-biomes that were added in Minecraft 1.18.

Additionally, emerald ore blobs now have a chance to have more than one ore block in a blob (only in Bedrock Edition).

Emerald ore is only generated in the Overworld dimension and attempts to generate 50 times per chunk. In Java Edition, emerald ore generates in blobs of one. However, in Bedrock Edition, the ore can generate in blobs that feature up to three emerald ore blocks. It attempts to generate 100 times per chunk.

Players can find emerald ore generating from Y level -16 all the way to Y level 320. As with all other ores and resources, there is a height level at which the mineral is found in the largest quantity. For emeralds, that height is Y level 256. The spawn rate of emerald ore blocks begins to reduce both below and above this height level in the game.

Just like other ores, emerald ore can replace blocks that fall within the world’s natural generation, like stone, andesite, granite, diorite, and deepslate. When an emerald ore block replaces a deepslate block, it generates as a deepslate emerald ore block, which is the rarest ore in Minecraft 1.19.

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Using Emeralds in Minecraft

Emeralds are primarily used as the main currency in the game’s world, with uses in the trading mechanic involving villagers and wandering traders. Players can purchase powerful new items to help them fight against the many dangers of the overworld, nether, and the end dimensions. They can also use emeralds to buy decorative blocks, plants, unique items, and even food.

For example, players can buy individual pieces of an iron armor set from an armorer like an iron helmet, chestplate, leggings, or boots for one emerald. In such cases, however, it is better to mine iron rather than waste rare resources like emeralds.

Aside from selling items for emeralds, villagers can also do the opposite. They award the player with emeralds if a suitable amount of certain objects is traded for them. For example, a mason sells the player some bricks in exchange for an emerald, but he also sells emeralds in exchange for clay balls.