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This article is about the Biomes in Subnautica. Click here for information on this subject in Below Zero.
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Subnautica features a wide range of Biomes to explore and exploit. They all represent miniature ecosystems from the real world.

There is a huge variety of Biomes, from the vibrant Kelp Forest to the sizzling depths of the enigmatic Lava Lakes. Each Biome contains its own set of Flora and Fauna to discover and resources to harvest.

Biomes

Aquatic Biomes

Biome Depth Range Resources Points of Interest
BloodKelpZoneNorthTrue
Blood Kelp Zone
  • 150 - 675 meters (Trench)
  • 200 - 580 meters (Northern)
BulbZoneTrue
Bulb Zone
  • 140 - 480 meters
Crag Field Biome
Crag Field
  • 125 - 460 meters
CrashZoneTrue
Crash Zone
  • 0 - 370 meters
Void GL
Crater Edge
  • 0 - 8000 meters

N/A

  • Death
Dunes Biome
Dunes
  • 65 - 400 meters
Grand Reef Biome
Grand Reef
  • 150 - 480 meters
Grassy Plateaus Biome
Grassy Plateaus
  • 50 - 170 meters
KelpForestTrue
Kelp Forest
  • 0 - 160 meters
Mountains Biome
Mountains
  • 0 - 500 meters
MushroomEastTrue
Mushroom Forest
  • 75 - 250 meters (Northwestern)
  • 125 - 200 meters (Northeastern)
SafeShallowsTrue
Safe Shallows
  • 0 - 80 meters
STPTrue
Sea Treader's Path
  • 170 - 360 meters
Sparse Reef Biome
Sparse Reef
  • 40 - 310 meters
UnderIslandsInfobox
Underwater Islands
  • 35 - 500 meters

Islands

Biome Depth Range Resources Points of Interest
FloatingIsland1
Floating Island
  • Above sea level

N/A

MountainIslandHeaderImage
Mountain Island
  • Above sea level

Cave Biomes

Biome Depth Range Resources Points of Interest
BloodKelpCavesInfoboxTrue
Blood Kelp Caves
  • 285 - 675 meters
    N/A
Lost RIverCavesInfobox
Bone Fields Caves
  • 610 - 710 meters
    N/A
BulbZonecavesinfobox
Bulb Zone Caves
  • 220 - 315 meters
DeepGradnInfoboxTrue
Deep Grand Reef
  • 425 - 630 meters
DeepSparse
Deep Sparse Reef
  • 210 - 290 meters
DunesCavesInfoboxImage
Dunes Caves
  • 400 - 420 meters

N/A

GR Caves Infobox
Grand Reef Caves
  • 120 - 410 meters

N/A

GrassyPlateausCavesInfoboxTrue
Grassy Plateaus Caves
  • 120 - 175 meters

N/A

Lava 9
Inactive Lava Zone
  • 900 - 1300 meters
2016-02-07 00009
Jellyshroom Cave
  • 180 - 300 meters
KelpForestCavesInfobox
Kelp Forest Caves
  • 90 - 170 meters
      N/A
ALZ1
Lava Lakes
  • 1300 - 1500 meters
Lost RIver Infobox PIc
Lost River
  • 550 - 1000 meters
20170424174843 1
Mountains Caves
  • 0 - 380 meters
2016-02-11 00031
Mushroom Forest Caves
  • 170 - 250 meters
SAFECAVES3
Safe Shallows Caves
  • 10 - 75 meters

N/A

2016-02-08 00003
Sea Treader's Tunnel Caves
  • 200 - 340 meters

N/A

Screen Shot 2017-03-02 at 17.20.59
Underwater Islands Caves
  • 205 - 255 meters

N/A

Mini-Biomes

Biome Depth Range Resources Points of Interest
CZMesasInfobox
Crash Zone Mesas
  • 150 - 330 meters

N/A

LavaGeyserInfobox
Lava Geyser
  • 60 - 560 meters
  • Varies

N/A

LavaCastle2
Lava Castle
  • 1100 - 1300 meters
Infobox ILZC
Inactive Lava Zone Corridor
  • 800 - 1200 meters
         N/A

Gallery

Trivia

  • There were three unused biomes during Subnautica's development, not including unused Biome IDs. These three biomes were the Arctic (represented as a light blue on the biome map), Twisty Bridges (represented as a green-blue color on the biome map), and the Lilipad Islands, which never received an associated biome color or were ever placed on the biome map during development.
    • The arctic biome recieved a few unique objects for it, such as snowy rocks, sounds, and even an unused cold effect.
    • One of the Twisty Bridge regions actually appeared during development, and were seen in the first Early Access build. They also had a unique cut plant and unused reference models for the bridges.
    • The only thing the Lilypad Islands received were some models.
    • All three of these biomes were later repurposed for Below Zero.
  • Early development footages of biome generation can be seen on a playlist from Russel Maekim's YouTube channel.
    • This includes the unused Twisty Bridges biome.
  • The game considers the inside of an Observatory, Lifepod, Scanner Room, Alien Containment, and inside the aquarium in the Primary Containment Facility to be completely separate biomes.
  • Early surface biome concepts were divided into Kelp Forest, Dense Kelp Forest, Sunny Kelp Forest, Coral Reef, Danger Reef, Safe Shallows, Grand Reefs, and Floating Islands.
  • Early lava zone biome concepts were divided into Lava Zone, Lava Bridges, Inactive Lava Zones, and Thermal Vents.
  • The Lava Lakes and the Crater Edge are the only biomes that do not contain any Flora.
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