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🌋 Caldera Formation Mechanics

Interactive 3D volcano cross-section where draining a simulated magma chamber shows the overlying roof losing support and collapsing inward to form a caldera.

Geology & Earth Science3DModerate60 FPS🌍 Earth

A cutaway 3D volcano lets you drain a simulated magma chamber and watch the overlying rock roof lose its support, fracture along a ring fault, and drop inward to form a caldera.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Once chamber fill drops below the roof's strength threshold, subsidence ramps up along a ring fault. Choose between a coherent piston-style collapse or a fragmented piecemeal collapse, both real caldera-forming patterns.

🎮 How to Use

Drag the chamber fill slider to drain magma manually, or switch on auto-drain to watch a full eruption-and-recharge cycle. Widen the cutaway to see deeper inside, and compare collapse styles.

💡 Did You Know?

Crater Lake, Oregon, formed when Mount Mazama's climactic eruption 7,700 years ago drained its magma chamber so quickly that the summit collapsed roughly 1,000 metres to form the caldera now filled by the lake.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D volcano cross-section where draining a simulated magma chamber shows the overlying roof losing support and collapsing inward to form a caldera.

calderavolcano-collapsemagma-chambervolcanologyvolcanic-hazardsgeology

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install