(SSP) The coordinate system used in Minecraft is a little confusing, as it doesn't really correlate to what is generally used. Usually, the X and Y axes are used when talking about length and width, and the Z is used for height. However, in Minecraft, the X and Z axes represent length and width, and Y represents height. As X or Z increase or decease, you are moving farther away from 0, 0, or the center of your Minecraft world.