Explorer maps are special maps that point you toward specific structures in Minecraft. Whether you’re hunting for an ocean monument, woodland mansion, trial chambers, or buried treasure, these maps beat randomly wandering around trying to find them.
What are explorer maps?
Explorer maps look different from regular maps. They show a land and water outline of an area, with orange striped water texture and blank land space. Instead of being blank, they display a small icon showing the structure you’re looking for. The maps reveal a 512×512 section of the world containing that structure.
Five main explorer maps exist:
- Ocean Explorer Map – locates ocean monuments
- Woodland Explorer Map – locates woodland mansions
- Trial Chambers Map – locates trial chambers
- Buried Treasure Map – locates buried treasure (shown as a red X)
- Village Maps – locate different village biomes (with Villager Trade Rebalance enabled)
With the Villager Trade Rebalance experiment on, you also get jungle and swamp explorer maps, plus village maps for desert, plains, savanna, snowy, and taiga biomes.
How to get explorer maps
Trading with cartographers
Cartographer villagers are your main source for explorer maps. They trade them for 1 compass plus a certain number of emeralds depending on the map type and their trading level.
| Map Type | Structure | Cartographer Level | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Explorer | Ocean Monument | Apprentice | 13 emeralds + 1 compass |
| Woodland Explorer | Woodland Mansion | Journeyman | 14 emeralds + 1 compass |
| Trial Chambers | Trial Chambers | Journeyman | 12 emeralds + 1 compass |
Important notes: Cartographers only unlock map trades if they’re in the Overworld. If you transport one to the Nether or End, the trades won’t work. Also, if your world doesn’t generate a particular structure, that map won’t be available for trade.
In Java Edition, each cartographer offers a unique map pointing to a different location. Buying the same map from the same cartographer multiple times gives you the same map. Bedrock Edition works differently – cartographers always show the nearest structure, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve found it before.
Finding buried treasure maps
Buried treasure maps are loot items instead of trade items. You find them in shipwrecks and underwater ruins. Shipwrecks have a map chest with a 100% chance to contain a buried treasure map. Underwater ruins have them in small chest (41.7% chance) and large chest (43.5% chance).
Unlike other explorer maps, buried treasure is non-renewable. You can only find these maps in generated structures, not through trades.
Using explorer maps
Hold an explorer map in your main hand. The map displays the area around you with your position shown as an icon. The structure icon is small at first, but gets bigger as you approach. When you’re less than 1027 blocks from the map border, the icon returns to normal size. Once you reach the map’s 512×512 area, it fills in like a normal map and shows more detail.
Buried treasure maps work the same way, except they show a red X instead of a structure icon. The actual treasure chest is located at the center of that X. You need to hold the map in both hands (not your offhand) for it to work properly.
Cloning explorer maps
You can duplicate an explorer map by crafting it with an empty map. The cloned map has the same center point and shows the same structure. Cloned maps are stackable, so you can carry multiple copies to explore from different directions if needed.
Previously explored areas show on both the original and cloned maps. In Creative mode, you can get cloned maps by pick blocking an explorer map displayed in an item frame.
Version information
Explorer maps work in both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Newer map types like Trial Chambers maps only appear in recent versions. If you’re on an older version, you won’t see these newer maps available for trade. Trial Chambers maps were added in version 1.21 for Java Edition.
Bedrock Edition has some differences: older worlds can experience issues if cartographer trades unlock after a world update. The game can freeze, which is something to watch for when upgrading old worlds.