Key Takeaway
Amethyst Geodes can be spotted most easily in Overworld terrain that exposes a lot of blocks between Y levels -64 and 30. As such, canyons, caves, and underwater locations are great places to find exposed Amethyst Geodes.
While there aren’t many recipes in Minecraft that need Amethyst Shards, Amethyst Geodes are composed of beautiful building materials. In addition to the Amethyst blocks that give this spherical node its name, it’s also made of Calcite and Smooth Basalt.
Table Of Contents
Where Amethyst Geodes Spawn
Amethyst Geodes spawn between Y level -64 (the Bedrock layer at the bottom of the Overworld) and Y level 30 (32 blocks below sea level). As such, you can only find them if you’re pretty deep down.
There is about a 4.2% chance that an Amethyst Geode will spawn in each chunk. While these odds are quite low, Amethyst Geode spawns can at least occur in structures like Mineshafts.
Furthermore, Amethyst Geodes are not considered true structures themselves. For this reason, they can still appear in worlds where the “generate structures” setting is turned off.
What Amethyst Geodes Are Made of
There are 3 main components that make up an Amethyst Geode:
- Amethyst block variants
- Calcite
- Smooth Basalt
The outer shell of an Amethyst Geode is composed primarily of Smooth Basalt. Within this, there is an inner shell of Calcite. And, within the Calcite inner shell, you’ll find the precious Amethyst block variants.
Here’s the difference between all kinds of Amethyst blocks:
- Block of Amethyst: smooth-surfaced purple blocks that only drop themselves
- Budding Amethyst: Blocks of Amethyst with cracks in them that drop nothing
- Amethyst Cluster: pointy growths that drop Amethyst Shards when fully grown
What You Need to Know About Mining Amethyst Clusters
These crystalline flowers have 4 growth stages: small, medium, large, and fully grown. You will only get Amethyst Shards by mining fully grown Amethyst Clusters. As such, don’t mine them until they are done growing!
While you can mine fully grown Amethyst Clusters with any tool, you should stick to using a Pickaxe. Breaking a fully grown Amethyst Cluster with a Pickaxe will give you 4 Amethyst Shards. However, using any other tool will only give you 2 Amethyst Shards.
Sadly, you cannot mine Budding Amethyst to make your own Amethyst Cluster farm. You can’t even collect Budding Amethyst with Silk Touch. Thankfully, Amethyst Clusters will grow on their own. They don’t need any resources to grow and will do so over time without aid.
What You Can Make With Amethyst Shards
While most components of Amethyst Geodes can only be used as pretty building materials, Amethyst Shards are used in a couple of crafting recipes. They can be used to make a Spyglass and Tinted Glass.
How to Make a Spyglass
On a Crafting Table, first, place 2 Copper Ingots vertically in any column. Afterward, place 1 Amethyst Shard above the column of Copper Ingots. This recipe will give you 1 Spyglass.
You can use a Spyglass to bring out your inner pirate! Use them to scout your surroundings with utmost clarity. In other words, a Spyglass will let you visually zoom in on far-away objects and locations.
How to Make Tinted Glass
This variant of Glass blocks will be a bit more resource expensive. On a Crafting Table, you need to begin by placing 1 Glass block in the centermost slot. Then place 4 Amethyst Shards around it: 1 above, 1 below, 1 to the left, and 1 to the right. This recipe will give you 2 blocks of Tinted Glass.
While Tinted Glass is transparent, it does not technically let light pass through. As such, Tinted Glass can be used to create see-through structures where hostile mobs can spawn. This, in turn, will allow you to make transparent XP farms above ground that function during the day.
