Snow & gravity

Avalanche

Release a patch of snow and follow its path into the valley.

0%snow in motion

0.0fastest · units/s

Ready to release

Mountain

Changing the mountain restarts the snowpack.

Snowpack strength Medium Snowfall Off

Tool

Drag to orbit · Scroll to zoom · Right-drag to pan

View Show powder cloud

Try a release at ¼×, then compare stronger snow. Snowfall adds weight and can cause a release on its own. An illustrative model, not an avalanche forecast.

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Avalanche

Release a snowy mountainside. Watch a small slide gather snow, flow through a mountain bowl, and settle in the valley.

A snowy alpine bowl above a small village, between exposed rocky ridges and sparse pine groves.

Enable JavaScript in a browser with WebGL 2 to run this interactive simulation.

An avalanche is snow moving down a mountainside. A small release can gather more snow as it travels, then leave a thick deposit where the ground flattens.

A snowpack can rest on a weak layer. A release breaks its support, letting gravity pull snow downhill.
Moving snow can set nearby snow in motion. Stronger snow resists this spreading release.
Gullies guide the flow. On gentler ground the snow slows down and settles. The village below gives a sense of scale; its buildings are fixed scenery.
Fresh snowfall adds weight. Enough loading can start a release without pressing the button. Blue in Snow change marks removal; rust shows buildup.

Try this: Release the upper slope at ¼×. Follow the moving front, then restart and compare the narrow chute or stronger snow. Scene only hides the controls for recording. This is an illustrative model, not an avalanche forecast.