Subnautica 2 Regions and Biomes Reference (Early Access)

Proteus is split into two main regions in the current Early Access build of Subnautica 2: Coral Gardens around your Lifepod, and Karakorum roughly 1,000 meters east. A third area, the World Tree , exists as out-of-bounds terrain and is not yet accessible. There is no in-game map, so navigation runs on the compass, beacons, and landmarks.

Quick answer: The Coral Gardens region surrounds the Lifepod and contains the Shallows, Plateaus, Dolerite Spires, Necrolei Hills, Anemone Hills, Lead Zone, and Graveyard, plus their cave variants. Karakorum, east of the starting area, contains Observatory Island, Karakorum Power Plant, Root Canyon, and Karakorum Metal Farms. The Tar Cascades sit in the Sparse Plains region between them.

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How regions and biomes are structured

A region is a large continuous area built from multiple themed biomes and sub-biomes. Travel between biomes inside one region is seamless, while crossing into another region produces a deliberate change in visuals, depth profile, and threats.

Biome names below follow what the PDA actually labels in-game where possible. Some areas have no PDA name yet and are still being renamed across community references, so a few labels may shift in later patches.

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There is no in-game map by design. Use the compass at the top of the HUD, drop Beacons before deep dives, and keep your Lifepod waypoint enabled in the PDA's Signals tab as your home reference.

Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

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Coral Gardens region

The Coral Gardens is the starting region. It wraps around the Lifepod and covers nearly all early-game content, from safe shallows to the hot Graveyard zone you should not enter without Heat Tolerance.

Biome	Depth	Key resources	Notable POIs
Shallows	3–224 m	Titanium, Copper, Quartz	Lifepod, Welcome Center, Anita's Garden bunker, Angel Comb (Digestion)
Plateaus	23–119 m	Necrolei Cyst, Titanium, Silver (caves)	Camp One, Old Habitat, Sophie's Retreat, Salvage bunker, Cicada Wreck (Lander Garage)
Dolerite Spires	Shallow–mid	Lithium, Titanium	Quaker's Meetinghouse, Cicada Wreck (Canteen), Spires Wreck 1 (High Capacity Air Tank), Spires Wreck 2 (Rebreather)
Necrolei Hills	Shallow–mid	Necrolei Cyst, Titanium, Copper	Deepwing Egg Clumps
Anemone Hills	0–151 m	Acidic Raion Pouch, Cherimoya Rotsac, Quartz	Hills Wreck 1 (Rebreather), Angel Comb (Heat Tolerance, infected)
Lead Zone	Shallow	Lead, Copper, Titanium	Atoll, Nook, Wreck
Graveyard	0–266 m	Gold, Sulfur, Salt	Tailings Village, Tadpole Pens, Cicada Wreck (Empty Hold), Nahema's Lab bunker
Shallows Caves	3–224 m	Copper, Titanium, Medical Gel Sac	—
Plateaus Caves	23–119 m	Copper, Silver, Titanium	—
Graveyard Caves	88–401 m	Gold, Sulfur, Lithium	Hot Cave

The Shallows is the landing zone. It holds your first Angel Comb, which grants the Digestion adaptation so you can eat alien life processed at a Fabricator. Coral outcrops, small fish, and Water Slugs make it a safe base of operations.

The Plateaus sit north of the Lifepod and are easy to spot from the large dead jellyfish draped across the rocks. The Old Habitat here holds early Colonist lore and blackboxes. Below it, the Plateaus Caves reliably yield Silver.

Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

Dolerite Spires are jagged columns rising from the seafloor. Two Spires Wrecks tucked among the pillars hold the High Capacity Air Tank and the Rebreather, both essential before any deep run.

Necrolei Hills and Anemone Hills are your two main early farms for Necrolei Cysts, which feed into Strong Acid for batteries and power cells later on. Anemone Hills is unmistakable thanks to the towering pink-and-green anemone plants. Just south, an infected Angel Comb requires the Sonic Resonator to clear its cankers; interacting with it unlocks the Heat Tolerance adaptation.

The Lead Zone is a sandy ridge area northwest of the Lifepod and the most reliable Lead source in the region. Threats are minimal.

The Graveyard is the hot biome of Coral Gardens. The water visibly turns orange as you approach, and a heat warning triggers. Do not enter without the Heat Tolerance adaptation. Inside, the Tailings Village and Tadpole Pens tell the rest of the Colonist story, and an underground Hot Cave drops further down for Gold and additional Sulfur. A Tadpole Diver makes the cave run far safer because of how quickly your oxygen drains at depth.

Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

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The Tufa Towers area south of the Lifepod contains a Giant Jaw clam. If it closes on you, do not panic; it reopens after a short delay and releases you.

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Sparse Plains region

Between the two main regions sits a transitional area best known for the Tar Cascades biome.

Biome	Depth	Key resources	Notable POIs
Tar Cascades	0–250 m	Titanium, Copper, Quartz, Celestine	Collector Leviathan territory

The Tar Cascades shift the visual language hard. Black tar-like deposits coat the terrain, and the Collector Leviathan patrols the area, so stay near the seafloor and plan your route before crossing.

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Karakorum region

To reach Karakorum, head roughly 1,000 meters east of the Lifepod, ideally inside a Tadpole Diver. Stay close to the seafloor on the way in to avoid surface-level Leviathans. The architecture here, abandoned alien towers and a working power plant, is the most technically advanced you will see in the current build.

Biome	Depth	Key resources	Notable POIs
Observatory Island	0–600 m	Celestine, Titanium, Copper	Axum Observatory, Alien Ruins, Rosetta Stone, Ruby's Blackbox
Observatory Island Caves	Mid	Copper, Quartz, Titanium	Angel Comb
Karakorum Power Plant	0–827 m	Quartz, Conduit Crystal	Angel Comb, Power Plant
Root Canyon	364–750 m	Atacamite, Celestine, mixed ores	Wrecks, Control Room, Tech Sites 4/7/10/11, Resonator Wreck, Blighted Wreck, Blight Nodes B and C, Heat Vents, Cold Zone
Karakorum Metal Farms	0–500 m	Atacamite, Troilite, Celestine, Axum Bacterial Culture	Metal Farms, Collector Leviathan
Needler Nest (micro)	0–300 m	Creature Enamel, Celestine	Needler Mango habitat
Silver Mines (micro)	0–420 m	Silver	—
Thermal Vent Clusters (micro)	0–450 m	Gold, Sulfur, Titanium	—
Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

Observatory Island is the entry point. The single alien tower that breaks the surface is the Axum Observatory, used by the aliens to study weather and sky. Its base entrance is sealed behind a locked Axum Door that requires an Alien Generator to open. A short swim from the tower, the Rosetta Stone is a tall black-and-green pillar covered in alien script and is a key lore anchor.

Karakorum Power Plant lies further east and goes much deeper. Visibility outside the structures is poor below 200 m, so beacons help. The alien tech inside requires a specific cybernetic adaptation to interact with, likely tied to the infected Angel Comb beneath the Observatory.

Root Canyon sits east-northeast of the Power Plant and drops past 700 m. Colonist Dive Elevators here suggest prior mining operations, and the area contains multiple Tech Sites, Heat Vents, a Cold Zone, and the Blighted Wreck with Blight Nodes that gate progression.

The Metal Farms are roughly 2,000 meters northeast-east of the Lifepod and host the Collector Leviathan again. They are the source of Troilite and Axum Bacterial Culture, both required for late-game crafting.

Smaller micro-biomes sit inside Karakorum: the Needler Nest for Creature Enamel and Celestine (hostile Needler Mangos guard it), the Silver Mines for dense Silver deposits, and Thermal Vent Clusters for Gold and Sulfur without needing to dive the Graveyard's Hot Cave.

Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

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World Tree and out-of-bounds terrain

Beyond the playable map sits Out of Bounds Terrain, reaching down to roughly 3,100 m. It contains the World Tree , which Colonist blackboxes repeatedly describe as the source of the Proteavirus infecting Proteus. A separate biome labeled Xanadu is listed as upcoming and is expected to house the World Tree and an Alien Crypt, but it is not accessible in the current build.

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Adaptation gates by region

Several biomes are locked behind cybernetic adaptations earned from Angel Combs. Plan your route around these gates rather than depth alone.

Adaptation	Where to unlock	What it gates
Digestion	Angel Comb in the Shallows	Eating processed alien life for food and water
Heat Tolerance	Infected Angel Comb south of Anemone Hills (needs Sonic Resonator)	Graveyard, Hot Cave, Thermal Vent Clusters
Karakorum tech access	Angel Comb beneath the Axum Observatory (requires later tool)	Power Plant interactions

You will know an adaptation took effect because the Angel Comb visibly changes state after interaction, and the PDA logs the new cybernetic in your inventory. Heat damage stops triggering once Heat Tolerance is active, which is the cleanest way to confirm it worked before committing to a Graveyard run.

Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment

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Region travel reference

Rough travel distances and headings from the Lifepod, useful for planning beacon placement before you commit to a long dive.

Destination	Heading from Lifepod	Approx. distance
Camp One / Plateaus	Northeast	~300 m
Anemone Hills / Necrolei Hills	Northwest	~300 m
Lead Zone	Northwest	~400 m
Tufa Towers / Cicada Wreck (Main)	South	~400 m
Graveyard / Tailings Village	West	~450 m
Sparse Plains / Tar Cascades	East	~700 m
Observatory Island	East	~1,000–1,200 m
Root Canyon / Power Plant	East, then northeast	~1,500–1,800 m
Metal Farms	East-northeast	~2,000–2,200 m

Coordinates in the pause menu's bottom-right corner help when you want to record a precise landmark, but the compass plus a single Beacon at your base entrance is usually enough to find your way home.

Because Subnautica 2 is still in Early Access, expect biome names, depth ranges, and POI layouts to shift between patches. New regions, including Xanadu and full World Tree access, are planned to land in later updates rather than at launch.