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🌋 Volcano Type Comparator

Interactive 3D cutaway where switching magma viscosity and gas content shows how shield, stratovolcano and cinder-cone eruptions differ in shape and explosivity.

Physics & Mechanics3DModerate60 FPS🔥 Fire 🌍 Earth

A cutaway 3D volcano whose shape, layering and eruption style are driven entirely by magma viscosity and dissolved gas content — the two properties that separate broad shield volcanoes from steep stratovolcanoes and small cinder cones.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Higher viscosity narrows and steepens the cone and adds visible strata; higher gas content shifts the eruption from an effusive lava flow toward an explosive ash column, matching real shield/stratovolcano/cinder-cone behaviour.

🎮 How to Use

Pick a volcano type preset or drag the viscosity, gas and eruption-rate sliders yourself, then hit "Trigger eruption" to watch lava fountains, flows and ash columns respond to the current settings.

💡 Did You Know?

Mauna Loa's shield slopes rarely exceed 10°, while stratovolcanoes like Mount Fuji can reach over 30° — almost entirely because their magmas differ in silica content and viscosity, not because of different eruption sizes.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D cutaway where switching magma viscosity and gas content shows how shield, stratovolcano and cinder-cone eruptions differ in shape and explosivity.

volcanoesmagma-viscosityeruption-dynamicsgeophysicsvolcanologyphysics

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