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Metro 2039Root Canyon
Root Canyon is Subnautica 2's deepest explorable biome, a pitch-black canyon 365 to 750 m deep in the far east, with root-like walls, the Control Room, Tech Sites, Blight Nodes, a Cold Zone, colonist Dive Elevators and the Axum Metal Farms; the Collector Leviathan patrols its lower reaches.
Root Canyon is the deepest biome you can explore in Subnautica 2's Early Access: a pitch-black canyon 365 to 750 m deep with root-like formations on its walls, in the Karakorum about 1,500 to 1,800 m east and then northeast of the Lifepod (All Things How), where the colonists' old mining sites, the Control Room and the Blight Nodes wait, and where Unknown Worlds places the Axum Metal Farms (1.2 notes). "Root Canyon" is an official name. Guides describe the launch build of May 2026; it is late-game, after Observatory Island.
Quick facts
| Depth | 365 to 750 m (Beebom, May 19, 2026); All Things How says 364 to 750 m |
| Where | About 1,500 to 1,800 m east, then northeast, of the Lifepod (All Things How) |
| Look | Pitch black; root-like formations on the walls |
| Points of interest | Control Room, Tech Sites 4, 7, 10 and 11, Resonator Wreck, Blighted Wreck, Blight Nodes B and C, Heat Vents, a Cold Zone, colonist Dive Elevators, an Angel Comb, the Axum Metal Farms |
| Resources | Celestine, Atacamite, Fulgur, Silver, Gold, Sulfur, Salt, Titanium, Quartz, Copper |
| Danger | Darkness, depth, heat and cold, the Collector Leviathan |
| Tadpole | Needs Depth Modules: the default limit is 250 m, Mk. 1 450 m |
How do you get to Root Canyon?
Go east past the Alien Ruins and the Karakorum Power Plant, by Tadpole. All Things How puts Root Canyon and the Power Plant together about 1,500 to 1,800 m east and then northeast of the Lifepod, and warns that visibility is poor below 200 m, so drop Beacons (May 20, 2026). The Tadpole can go only to 250 m by default and 450 m with the Depth Module Mk. 1 (Game Rant); the lower canyon needs the Mk. 2, whose depth Game Rant does not give. Its recipe, on Destructoid's launch-build list, is 2 Dedicated Cores, 2 Troilite and 2 Mangalloy Ingots (May 16, 2026). See Tadpole Upgrades.
What is in Root Canyon?
All Things How's list for the canyon is wrecks, the Control Room, Tech Sites 4, 7, 10 and 11, the Resonator Wreck, the Blighted Wreck, Blight Nodes B and C, Heat Vents and a Cold Zone, with colonist Dive Elevators that suggest past mining (May 20, 2026); Beebom adds an Angel Comb and describes mining operations there. All Things How says the Blight Nodes gate progress. The guides name these places but do not walk through them, and Unknown Worlds' notes name only the Dive Elevator (also a buildable, fixed in 1.1 and 1.2) and the Axum Metal Farms here. "Blight" is the roadmap's word for what the patch notes call the Bloom; see The Bloom.
Heat Vents and the Cold Zone
Root Canyon is the one place guides list both Heat Vents and a Cold Zone (All Things How). Elsewhere, Heat Tolerance is what protects you from hot water. What the cold does, and whether anything protects you from it, is not described in the guides or the notes, as of Nov 4, 2026. See Adaptations.
Resources
Beebom's list is the longest of any biome: Celestine, Fulgur, Titanium, Quartz, Copper, Atacamite, Silver, Gold, Sulfur and Salt (May 19, 2026). TheGamer finds Celestine 1,970 m east at about 350 m and 2,130 m east at about 267 m, in a heated cave with Gold and Sulfur (May 21, 2026). Since 1.2 Atacamite can no longer be harvested with a Sonic Resonator (Unknown Worlds). Troilite, the late-game metal, is on Metal Farms and Troilite.
In Aci's May 26, 2026 base guide, after Hotfix 2, the late-game spot below the Karakorum Power Plant has "even the rarest endgame resources close by" but no Copper, which means trips back to the Observatory area. Power has to be carried there with Power Transmitters from a hidden thermal vent area, since it is too deep for solar and has no currents.
The Collector in the lower canyon
Buddy System Hotfix 1 (Sep 1, 2026) "Improved pathing for the Collector Leviathan in the lower canyon areas, and tightened its collision detection" (Unknown Worlds), so a Collector hunts there too. All Things How and Beebom put one at the Metal Farms, and Dexerto reports a second Collector about 350 m deep in a toxic yellow-green Bloom area northeast of the Karakorum ruins, short of the World Tree (Dexerto). Whether these are one Leviathan or two is a matter guides disagree on.
Kingfisher's Jun 19, 2026 creature guide, made before 1.1, counts two Collectors in his game: one in the sparse fields just beyond the Graveyard, the other hovering over the Karakorum Metal Farms. See Collector Leviathan.
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Root Canyon in Subnautica 2? 365 to 750 m by Beebom's launch-build count; it is the deepest biome you can explore in Early Access, though All Things How measures the Karakorum Power Plant area to 827 m.
Where is the Control Room in Subnautica 2? In Root Canyon, in the far east of the map, by All Things How's list; the guides name it but give no walkthrough.
Is there a Cold Zone in Subnautica 2? All Things How lists a Cold Zone in Root Canyon beside its Heat Vents; how the cold affects you is not described as of Nov 4, 2026.
What depth module do you need for Root Canyon in Subnautica 2? The Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 1 takes the Tadpole to 450 m, enough for the canyon's upper part; the lower canyon, to 750 m, needs the Mk. 2.
Sources
- All Subnautica 2 Biomes and Regions, Beebom (Bipradeep Biswas), May 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Regions and Biomes Reference (Early Access), All Things How (Pallav Pathak), May 20, 2026
- How to Go Deeper with the Tadpole, Game Rant (Nahda Nabiilah), May 16, 2026
- All blueprints and recipes in Subnautica 2, Destructoid (Madison Benson), May 16, 2026
- Where To Find Celestine, TheGamer (Kaitlyn Peterson), May 21, 2026
- Subnautica 2 - All Collector Leviathan locations, Dexerto, May 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.2 - Buddy System Update, Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access Buddy System Hotfix 1, Unknown Worlds, Sep 1, 2026
- Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations, IGN, May 19, 2026 (video)
- The BEST base locations in Subnautica 2, Aci, May 26, 2026 (video)
- All 41 Creatures in Subnautica 2 EXPLAINED!, Kingfisher, Jun 19, 2026 (video)
Moments
Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations
IGN
The BEST base locations in Subnautica 2
Aci
All 41 Creatures in Subnautica 2 EXPLAINED!
Kingfisher
Related
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Anemone HillsThe Anemone Hills are Subnautica 2's biome of towering pink-and-green anemones about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, 0 to 151 m deep, where the infected Heat Tolerance Angel Comb waits behind Bloom you clear with the Sonic Resonator.
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Coral GardensCoral Gardens and North Coral Gardens are Unknown Worlds' names for Subnautica 2's early coral areas around the Lifepod; update 1.1 (Jul 8, 2026) put a second Biolab and more Silver there, and 1.2 gave North Coral Gardens its own music.
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Dolerite SpiresThe Dolerite Spires are a maze of jagged volcanic pillars in Subnautica 2's starting region, shallow to mid depth, with Lithium and Titanium, Quaker's Meetinghouse and two Spires wrecks that All Things How lists for the High Capacity Air Tank and the Rebreather on the launch build.
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GraveyardThe Graveyard is Subnautica 2's hot, orange-watered biome, 0 to 266 m deep, that needs the Heat Tolerance Adaptation; it holds Gold, Salt, Sulfur and Lithium, the Tadpole Pens, Tailings Village, a Cicada Wreck, Nahema's Lab and hundreds of Water Slugs.
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Metal FarmsThe Axum Metal Farms are the far eastern edge of Subnautica 2's Early Access map, about 2,000 to 2,200 m east-northeast of the Lifepod beside the Karakorum Power Plant, the only source of Troilite and Atacamite and where you find the Axum Bacterial Culture to build a Metal Farm of your own.
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Necrolei HillsThe Necrolei Hills are Subnautica 2's infected hills about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, the main source of Necrolei Cysts for Strong Acid, with Copper, Titanium, Deepwing Egg Clumps and fauna mutated by the Bloom.
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PlateausThe Plateaus are Subnautica 2's rocky biome about 300 m northeast of the Lifepod, 23 to 119 m deep by All Things How's count, with Camp One, the Old Habitat and the caves that hold the early Silver; the sandy Lead Zone lies nearby.
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ShallowsThe Shallows are Subnautica 2's starting biome, the bright coral reefs around the Lifepod, 3 to 224 m deep by All Things How's count, with the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast, the first Angel Comb, Quartz-filled Coral Domes and caves of Copper and Titanium below.
See also
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Observatory IslandObservatory Island is Subnautica 2's Axum tower rising out of the sea about 1,000 to 1,200 m east of the Lifepod, with the Alien Ruins (Unknown Worlds' Axum Ruins), the Rosetta Stone, a Biolab since 1.1 and the Axum Observatory, where the Early Access story stops.
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Collector LeviathanThe Collector Leviathan is Subnautica 2's giant squid, found in the trench about 700 m east of the Lifepod past the hot Graveyard waters; it cannot be killed, so you cross its trench low along the bottom in a Tadpole. Scanning it teaches the Sonic Echo Biomod.
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Tadpole UpgradesSubnautica 2's Tadpole has four upgrade slots for six modules made at the Modification Station: Engine Efficiency, Strike Armor, Cavitation Muffler, Photovoltaic Charger and Depth Modules Mk. 1 and Mk. 2. Mk. 1 raises crush depth from 250 m to 450 m.
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The BloomThe Bloom is Subnautica 2's infection: biofilm, sap, cankers and parasites that block caves, infect creatures and Angel Combs, and cannot be cleared by hand. You get past it with the Sonic Resonator, and the armored pink cankers need the Feedback Resonator; some places and guides call it the Blight.
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AdaptationsSubnautica 2 has four Adaptations, permanent body changes taken from Angel Combs, as of Nov 4, 2026. Pressure Tolerance comes in the opening, Digestion from an Angel Comb about 130 to 180 m north-northeast of the Lifepod, Heat Tolerance from an infected Angel Comb about 200 m northwest once the Sonic Resonator clears it, and Axum Vision from an Angel Comb about 1,800 m east.