diff --git a/src/App.tsx b/src/App.tsx
index 427d9c8..4ca19c2 100644
--- a/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/App.tsx
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ const Lsystem = lazy(() => import("./pages/Lsystem"));
 const Bezier = lazy(() => import("./pages/Bezier"));
 const Percolation = lazy(() => import("./pages/Percolation"));
 const Epidemic = lazy(() => import("./pages/Epidemic"));
+const Descent = lazy(() => import("./pages/Descent"));
 const NotFound = lazy(() => import("./pages/NotFound"));
 
 const App = () => (
@@ -550,6 +551,19 @@ const App = () => (
               </>
             }
           />
+          <Route
+            path="/descent"
+            element={
+              <>
+                <SEO
+                  title="Gradient Descent Arena — SGD vs Momentum vs Adam"
+                  path="/descent"
+                  description="Drop three optimizers on a bumpy loss surface and watch SGD, momentum, and Adam race downhill — local minima, overshoot, and adaptive steps made visible."
+                />
+                <Descent />
+              </>
+            }
+          />
           {/* ADD ALL CUSTOM ROUTES ABOVE THE CATCH-ALL "*" ROUTE */}
           <Route
             path="*"
diff --git a/src/features/descent/optimizers.ts b/src/features/descent/optimizers.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3e53dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/features/descent/optimizers.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+export type SurfaceId = "bowl" | "twopits" | "ripple";
+
+export interface Surface {
+  label: string;
+  f: (x: number, y: number) => number; // loss, roughly [0,1] range over [-1,1]^2
+  grad: (x: number, y: number) => [number, number];
+}
+
+const gauss = (x: number, y: number, cx: number, cy: number, s: number) =>
+  Math.exp(-((x - cx) ** 2 + (y - cy) ** 2) / (2 * s * s));
+
+// Analytic gradient of a gaussian pit/bump with amplitude a
+const gaussGrad = (
+  x: number, y: number, cx: number, cy: number, s: number, a: number
+): [number, number] => {
+  const g = a * gauss(x, y, cx, cy, s);
+  return [(-(x - cx) / (s * s)) * g, (-(y - cy) / (s * s)) * g];
+};
+
+export const SURFACES: Record<SurfaceId, Surface> = {
+  bowl: {
+    label: "Tilted bowl",
+    f: (x, y) => 0.5 * (x * x + 1.8 * y * y) + 0.15 * x,
+    grad: (x, y) => [x + 0.15, 1.8 * y],
+  },
+  twopits: {
+    label: "Two pits",
+    f: (x, y) =>
+      0.25 * (x * x + y * y) -
+      0.55 * gauss(x, y, -0.45, -0.1, 0.28) -
+      0.9 * gauss(x, y, 0.5, 0.25, 0.22),
+    grad: (x, y) => {
+      const [g1x, g1y] = gaussGrad(x, y, -0.45, -0.1, 0.28, -0.55);
+      const [g2x, g2y] = gaussGrad(x, y, 0.5, 0.25, 0.22, -0.9);
+      return [0.5 * x + g1x + g2x, 0.5 * y + g1y + g2y];
+    },
+  },
+  ripple: {
+    label: "Ripples",
+    f: (x, y) =>
+      0.4 * (x * x + y * y) + 0.08 * Math.sin(9 * x) + 0.08 * Math.sin(9 * y),
+    grad: (x, y) => [
+      0.8 * x + 0.72 * Math.cos(9 * x),
+      0.8 * y + 0.72 * Math.cos(9 * y),
+    ],
+  },
+};
+
+export type OptimizerId = "sgd" | "momentum" | "adam";
+
+export interface OptState {
+  x: number;
+  y: number;
+  vx: number;
+  vy: number;
+  mx: number;
+  my: number; // Adam first moment
+  sx: number;
+  sy: number; // Adam second moment
+  t: number;
+  trail: { x: number; y: number }[];
+  done: boolean;
+}
+
+export const OPTIMIZERS: Record<OptimizerId, { label: string; color: string }> = {
+  sgd: { label: "SGD", color: "#00cfff" },
+  momentum: { label: "Momentum", color: "#ffe066" },
+  adam: { label: "Adam", color: "#ff4da6" },
+};
+
+export function newOpt(x: number, y: number): OptState {
+  return { x, y, vx: 0, vy: 0, mx: 0, my: 0, sx: 0, sy: 0, t: 0, trail: [{ x, y }], done: false };
+}
+
+const BETA1 = 0.9, BETA2 = 0.999, EPS = 1e-8;
+const MU = 0.9; // momentum coefficient
+const TRAIL_MAX = 900;
+
+export function stepOpt(
+  o: OptState,
+  id: OptimizerId,
+  surface: Surface,
+  lr: number
+): void {
+  if (o.done) return;
+  const [gx, gy] = surface.grad(o.x, o.y);
+
+  if (id === "sgd") {
+    o.x -= lr * gx;
+    o.y -= lr * gy;
+  } else if (id === "momentum") {
+    o.vx = MU * o.vx - lr * gx;
+    o.vy = MU * o.vy - lr * gy;
+    o.x += o.vx;
+    o.y += o.vy;
+  } else {
+    o.t++;
+    o.mx = BETA1 * o.mx + (1 - BETA1) * gx;
+    o.my = BETA1 * o.my + (1 - BETA1) * gy;
+    o.sx = BETA2 * o.sx + (1 - BETA2) * gx * gx;
+    o.sy = BETA2 * o.sy + (1 - BETA2) * gy * gy;
+    const mxh = o.mx / (1 - Math.pow(BETA1, o.t));
+    const myh = o.my / (1 - Math.pow(BETA1, o.t));
+    const sxh = o.sx / (1 - Math.pow(BETA2, o.t));
+    const syh = o.sy / (1 - Math.pow(BETA2, o.t));
+    // Adam works on a different lr scale; boost so races are fair to watch
+    const alr = lr * 3;
+    o.x -= (alr * mxh) / (Math.sqrt(sxh) + EPS);
+    o.y -= (alr * myh) / (Math.sqrt(syh) + EPS);
+  }
+
+  // Clamp to the domain
+  o.x = Math.max(-1, Math.min(1, o.x));
+  o.y = Math.max(-1, Math.min(1, o.y));
+
+  o.trail.push({ x: o.x, y: o.y });
+  if (o.trail.length > TRAIL_MAX) o.trail.shift();
+
+  // Converged when the gradient is tiny
+  if (gx * gx + gy * gy < 1e-8) o.done = true;
+}
diff --git a/src/pages/Descent.tsx b/src/pages/Descent.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e0c80f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pages/Descent.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState, useCallback } from "react";
+import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
+import {
+  SurfaceId,
+  SURFACES,
+  OptimizerId,
+  OPTIMIZERS,
+  OptState,
+  newOpt,
+  stepOpt,
+} from "../features/descent/optimizers";
+
+const SURFACE_KEYS = Object.keys(SURFACES) as SurfaceId[];
+const OPT_KEYS = Object.keys(OPTIMIZERS) as OptimizerId[];
+const HEAT_RES = 3; // px per heatmap sample
+
+export default function Descent() {
+  const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
+  const heatRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement | null>(null);
+  const optsRef = useRef<Record<OptimizerId, OptState> | null>(null);
+  const surfaceRef = useRef<SurfaceId>("twopits");
+  const lrRef = useRef(0.02);
+
+  const [surface, setSurface] = useState<SurfaceId>("twopits");
+  const [lr, setLr] = useState(0.02);
+  const [steps, setSteps] = useState(0);
+
+  // Render the loss surface to an offscreen heatmap
+  const buildHeatmap = useCallback(() => {
+    const canvas = canvasRef.current;
+    if (!canvas) return;
+    const { width: W, height: H } = canvas;
+    const gw = Math.max(2, Math.floor(W / HEAT_RES));
+    const gh = Math.max(2, Math.floor(H / HEAT_RES));
+    const off = document.createElement("canvas");
+    off.width = gw;
+    off.height = gh;
+    const octx = off.getContext("2d")!;
+    const img = octx.createImageData(gw, gh);
+    const surf = SURFACES[surfaceRef.current];
+
+    // Find range for normalization
+    let min = Infinity, max = -Infinity;
+    const vals = new Float32Array(gw * gh);
+    for (let gy = 0; gy < gh; gy++) {
+      for (let gx = 0; gx < gw; gx++) {
+        const x = (gx / (gw - 1)) * 2 - 1;
+        const y = (gy / (gh - 1)) * 2 - 1;
+        const v = surf.f(x, y);
+        vals[gy * gw + gx] = v;
+        if (v < min) min = v;
+        if (v > max) max = v;
+      }
+    }
+    const span = Math.max(1e-9, max - min);
+    for (let i = 0; i < vals.length; i++) {
+      const t = (vals[i] - min) / span; // 0 = deepest
+      // Deep = bright green, high = near black, with contour banding
+      const band = Math.abs(((vals[i] - min) / span * 14) % 1 - 0.5) < 0.06 ? 0.25 : 0;
+      const g = Math.max(0, (1 - t) * 150 + band * 80);
+      img.data[i * 4] = g * 0.15;
+      img.data[i * 4 + 1] = g;
+      img.data[i * 4 + 2] = g * 0.3;
+      img.data[i * 4 + 3] = 255;
+    }
+    octx.putImageData(img, 0, 0);
+    heatRef.current = off;
+  }, []);
+
+  const dropAt = useCallback((x: number, y: number) => {
+    optsRef.current = {
+      sgd: newOpt(x, y),
+      momentum: newOpt(x, y),
+      adam: newOpt(x, y),
+    };
+    setSteps(0);
+  }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const canvas = canvasRef.current;
+    if (!canvas) return;
+    const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
+    if (!ctx) return;
+
+    const resize = () => {
+      const rect = canvas.parentElement!.getBoundingClientRect();
+      canvas.width = rect.width;
+      canvas.height = rect.height;
+      buildHeatmap();
+      dropAt(-0.8, -0.75);
+    };
+    resize();
+    window.addEventListener("resize", resize);
+
+    let frame = 0;
+    let raf = 0;
+    const loop = () => {
+      raf = requestAnimationFrame(loop);
+      frame++;
+      const { width: W, height: H } = canvas;
+      const opts = optsRef.current;
+      const surf = SURFACES[surfaceRef.current];
+
+      if (opts) {
+        for (const id of OPT_KEYS) {
+          stepOpt(opts[id], id, surf, lrRef.current);
+        }
+        if (frame % 10 === 0) {
+          setSteps((s) => s + 10);
+        }
+      }
+
+      const toPx = (x: number) => ((x + 1) / 2) * W;
+      const toPy = (y: number) => ((y + 1) / 2) * H;
+
+      // Heatmap
+      if (heatRef.current) {
+        ctx.imageSmoothingEnabled = true;
+        ctx.drawImage(heatRef.current, 0, 0, W, H);
+      }
+
+      // Trails + heads
+      if (opts) {
+        for (const id of OPT_KEYS) {
+          const o = opts[id];
+          const color = OPTIMIZERS[id].color;
+          ctx.strokeStyle = color;
+          ctx.lineWidth = 1.5;
+          ctx.beginPath();
+          o.trail.forEach((p, i) => {
+            const px = toPx(p.x);
+            const py = toPy(p.y);
+            if (i === 0) ctx.moveTo(px, py);
+            else ctx.lineTo(px, py);
+          });
+          ctx.stroke();
+          ctx.beginPath();
+          ctx.arc(toPx(o.x), toPy(o.y), 5, 0, Math.PI * 2);
+          ctx.fillStyle = color;
+          ctx.fill();
+          ctx.strokeStyle = "#000";
+          ctx.lineWidth = 1;
+          ctx.stroke();
+        }
+      }
+    };
+    raf = requestAnimationFrame(loop);
+
+    return () => {
+      cancelAnimationFrame(raf);
+      window.removeEventListener("resize", resize);
+    };
+  }, [buildHeatmap, dropAt]);
+
+  const onClick = (e: React.MouseEvent) => {
+    const canvas = canvasRef.current!;
+    const rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const x = ((e.clientX - rect.left) / rect.width) * 2 - 1;
+    const y = ((e.clientY - rect.top) / rect.height) * 2 - 1;
+    dropAt(x, y);
+  };
+
+  const handleSurface = (s: SurfaceId) => {
+    surfaceRef.current = s;
+    setSurface(s);
+    buildHeatmap();
+    dropAt(-0.8, -0.75);
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div className="min-h-screen bg-background text-primary font-mono flex flex-col">
+      {/* Header */}
+      <div className="border-b border-primary/20 px-4 py-3 flex items-center justify-between flex-wrap gap-2">
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+          <Link to="/" className="text-primary/50 hover:text-primary text-sm transition-colors">
+            ← home
+          </Link>
+          <span className="text-primary/20">|</span>
+          <span className="text-sm">gradient descent arena</span>
+        </div>
+        <div className="text-xs text-primary/40 flex gap-4 tabular-nums">
+          <span>{steps} steps</span>
+          {OPT_KEYS.map((id) => (
+            <span key={id} style={{ color: OPTIMIZERS[id].color }}>
+              ● {OPTIMIZERS[id].label}
+            </span>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Controls */}
+      <div className="border-b border-primary/10 px-4 py-2 flex flex-wrap items-center gap-4">
+        <div className="flex gap-1">
+          {SURFACE_KEYS.map((s) => (
+            <button
+              key={s}
+              onClick={() => handleSurface(s)}
+              className={`px-2 py-0.5 text-xs border transition-colors ${
+                surface === s
+                  ? "border-primary bg-primary/10 text-primary"
+                  : "border-primary/20 text-primary/40 hover:border-primary/50 hover:text-primary/70"
+              }`}
+            >
+              {SURFACES[s].label}
+            </button>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <span className="text-primary/40 text-xs">learning rate</span>
+          <input
+            type="range"
+            min={0.002}
+            max={0.08}
+            step={0.002}
+            value={lr}
+            onChange={(e) => {
+              const v = Number(e.target.value);
+              lrRef.current = v;
+              setLr(v);
+            }}
+            className="w-28 accent-primary"
+          />
+          <span className="text-primary/60 text-xs w-10">{lr.toFixed(3)}</span>
+        </div>
+
+        <button
+          onClick={() => dropAt(-0.8, -0.75)}
+          className="ml-auto px-3 py-1 text-xs border border-primary/30 hover:border-primary text-primary/70 hover:text-primary transition-colors"
+        >
+          ↺ restart from corner
+        </button>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Canvas */}
+      <div className="flex-1 relative overflow-hidden" style={{ minHeight: 0 }}>
+        <canvas
+          ref={canvasRef}
+          className="block w-full h-full cursor-crosshair"
+          onClick={onClick}
+        />
+        <div className="absolute bottom-3 left-4 text-xs text-primary/40 pointer-events-none">
+          click to drop all three optimizers · bright = low loss · on ripples, watch SGD stall in local dips while momentum coasts through
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}