Gaea's simulations of natural processes are the cornerstone of creating rich, believable digital terrains.

Creating simple erosion can give you great terrains, especially when powered by Erosion_2. However, you can take it several levels further. Creating multiple erosion passes and infusing different processes in between, lets you create very complex visuals.

In this example, we use Scree and Stones to create granular detail into the surface. Then we use Anastomosis to fuse these "debris" into the soil by simulating light water flow. Each of these segments is bookended by Erosion nodes. Finally, we top it off with Crumble to deepen our downcuts. The result: a magnificently complex landscape with character, localized details, and a distinct terrain that is very memorable.

Erosion_2 is the pinnacle of natural simulation in Gaea. It mimics real-world erosion processes with deterministic precision while granting full creative control. Shape mountains with hydraulic, thermal, and gravitational forces. Control talus, anisotropy, sediment displacement, and more—all while keeping your shape intact through volume preservation.

Simulate convincing snow accumulation across slopes, crevices, and terrain curvature. Customize melt dynamics, powder softness, and seasonal transitions. Integrated into erosion and texture workflows for biome realism.

Simulate water bodies such lakes, rivers, and entire coasts. Export water bodies as separate heightfield or meshes, use Depth information to help guide colorizations or influence other elements in your graph. Hydrology is built into Gaea's engine and uses advanced physics to ensure realistic simulation.

The WaterColor node provides fast, easy colorization for your all your water bodies in single pass.

Gaea’s Debris simulation generates millions of physical rock fragments using a physics-based engine. Debris can be embedded in the heightfield or exported as a point cloud. Customize rock type, distribution, and coloration for realistic aftermaths of mechanical erosion.

Driven by terrain shape, hydrology, and climate data, the Vegetation node procedurally defines plant distribution. Finetune density, biomes, and species with precision, ensuring natural-looking vegetation that is rooted in geological logic.

Different Tree nodes can be chained and have each react to previous populations, allowing you to create complex interactions.

Multiple simulations of the same type require you to combine the same type of data/masks from all the simulations - which can get messy. The Accumulator node lets you access global masks for simulations such as Snow, Water, Debris, Trees - including various secondary masks such as Depth and FreshWater - in a single node.

Even when you add new Simulations or remove existing ones, the Accumulator updates itself automatically.