Cataclysm is derived from the Greek (), 'down, against', and (), 'wash over, surge'. It may refer to:
Common meanings
*Generally, any large-scale
disaster
*
Deluge (mythology)
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primae ...
*Doomsday event, see hypothetical
risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth
*A catastrophic natural event:
**
List of geological phenomena {{short description, None
A geological phenomenon is a phenomenon which is explained by or sheds light on the science of geology.
Examples of geological phenomena are:
* Mineralogic phenomena
* Lithologic phenomena
** Rock types
*** Igneous roc ...
**
earthquake, the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves
**
volcanic eruption
Video games
*''
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm'', an expansion pack of Blizzard Entertainment's ''World of Warcraft''
*''
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead'', an open-source cross-platform roguelike video game
*''
Homeworld: Cataclysm'', a stand-alone expansion, of the ''Homeworld'' space-based RTS franchise
Books and comics
*
Cataclysm (''Dragonlance''), a fictional event in the ''Dragonlance'' novels
*''
Batman: Cataclysm'', a DC Comics crossover story arc featuring Batman
* ''
Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand'', a 2013–2014 crossover storyline appearing in the Ultimate Marvel line of books
* ''Godzilla: Cataclysm'', a miniseries from the ''Godzilla'' comics by IDW Publishing, see
Godzilla (comics)#Miniseries
Other uses
* A special ability used by Cat Noir, a
character in ''Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir''
* "Cataclysmic", a song by Joe Satriani from the 2015 album ''
Shockwave Supernova''
See also
*
Cataclysmic variable star
In astronomy, cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are stars which irregularly increase in brightness by a large factor, then drop back down to a quiescent state. They were initially called novae (), since ones with an outburst brightness visible to ...
, which irregularly increases in brightness by a large factor, then drops back down to a quiescent state (initially called ''nova'')
*
Cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis, pseudo-scientific claim of past rapid changes of Earth's axis
*
Ekpyrosis
Ekpyrosis (; grc, ἐκπύρωσις ''ekpýrōsis'', "conflagration") is a Stoicism, Stoic belief in the periodic destruction of the cosmos by a great conflagration every Great Year. The cosmos is then recreated (palingenesis) only to be destro ...
, a conflagration
*
Pyroclastic flow, fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter
*
Lahar
A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley.
Lahars are extreme ...
, violent volcanic mudflow or debris flow
*
Eschatology, part of theology concerned with the final events of history
{{Disambiguation