Crusader37

We will begin by considering rock strata and fossil remains as an effect and evidence of the Flood. Following this, we will view several non-strata and fossil effects of the time before the Flood, during the Flood, and a period of time immediately after the Flood ended.

we will obtain a better understanding of the effects of the Flood. We will also see more clearly how those effects prove, not uniformitarianism, but catastrophism. There was a worldwide Flood! It is the only way that can explain so many geographical features on our planet today.

UNIFORMITARIANISM—A basic principle of evolution for over a century has been the theory of uniformitarianism, which teaches that "all things continue as they were from the beginning"

 2 Peter 3:3-7 tells about this

When evolutionists gaze upon the immense ocean, the millions of fossils and thick coal seams in the sedimentary rocks, the sea shells on top of the highest mountains, the deep canyons with small rivers, vast dried-up lake beds, and thrust-up mountain blocks,—they declare that it all came about by the same fairly gentle processes and natural forces that are operating today.

"This is the great underlying principle of modern geology and is known as the principle of uniformitarianism . . Without the principle of uniformitarianism there could hardly be a science of geology that was more than pure description."—*W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1957), pp. 16-17.

Thoughtful scientists admit that the uniformitarian theory explains nothing about the age of fossils, rock strata, the age of the earth, or anything else:

"The idea that the rates or intensities of geological processes have been constant is so obviously contrary to the evidence that one can only wonder at its persistence . . Modern uniformitarianism . . asserts nothing about the age of the Earth or about anything else."—*James H. Shea, "Twelve Fallacies of Uniformitarianism," in Geology, September 1982, p. 457.

"Uniformitarianists find it particularly difficult to apply their principle, namely: the cause of mountain-building; the origin of geosynclines;  the origin of petroleum; the cause of continual glaciation; the mechanics of overthrusting;  the cause of peneplains; the cause of world-wide warm climates; the nature of volcanism producing vast volcanic terrains; the nature of continental uplift processes; the origin of mineral deposits; the nature of metamorphism; the origin of saline deposits; the nature of granitization; and  the origin of coal measures. Not one of the above phenomena has yet been adequately explained in terms of present processes."—H.R. Siegler, Evolution or Degeneration—Which? (1972).

CATASTROPHISM—In contrast, the concept called catastrophism teaches that a terrible crisis occurred at some earlier time.

Geologic evidence on all sides is clear that it was a catastrophe of such gigantic proportions that rocks were twisted, mountains were hurled upward, water was pulled out of the earth, and the very atmosphere was dramatically affected. As a consequence, thousands of volcanoes erupted and vast glaciers moved downward from poles which had earlier been warm.

"Bretz has been unable to account for such a flood but maintained that field evidence indicated its reality. This theory represents a return to catastrophism which many geologists have been reluctant to accept."—*W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1954)

The evidence is so profound that many secular scientists are indeed turning away from uniformitarianism.

"In fact, the catastrophists were much more empirically minded than Lyell [who first widely championed uniformitarianism over a century ago]. The geologic record does seem to require catastrophism: rocks are fractured and contorted; whole faunas are wiped out. To circumvent this literal appearance, Lyell imposed his imagination upon the evidence. The geologic record, he argued, is extremely imperfect and we must interpolate into it what we can reasonably infer but cannot see. The catastrophists were [in contrast] the hard-nosed empiricists of their day."—*Stephan Jay Gould, "Catastrophes and Steady State Earth," in Natural History, February 1975, p. 17. [Gould is a professor at Harvard University, teaching geology, biology, and the history of science.]

"Conventional uniformitarianism, or ‘gradualism,’ i.e., the doctrine of unchanging change, is verily contradicted by all post-Cambrian sedimentary data and the geotectonic [earth movement] histories of which these sediments are the record."—*P.D. Krynine, "Uniformitarianism is a Dangerous Doctrine," in Paleontology, 1956, p. 1004.

"Often, I am afraid the subject [of geology] is taught superficially, with Geikie’s maxim ‘the present is the key to the past’ used as a catechism and the imposing term uniformitarianism’ as a smokescreen to hide confusion both of student and teacher."—*Stephen Jay Gould, "Is Uniformitarianism Useful?" in Journal of Geological Education, October 1957, p. 150.

I - FOSSILS, STRATA, AND THE FLOOD

Although this section duplicates portions of our earlier chapter, Fossils and Strata, the duplication is considered necessary, for we will now correlate the fossil and strata evidence with the worldwide Flood. Without doing so, it would be more difficult to properly assess the relationships, implications, and impact of the Flood.

FOSSILS AND ROCK STRATA—Above the molten rock at the center of our planet is a mantle of black basalt, from which flows the lava which issues forth out of volcanoes. Above that basalt is to be found the light-colored, coarse-grained crystals we call granite. This is the basement rock of the world and undergirds all of our continents. At times this granite is close to the surface, but frequently a large quantity of sedimentary rock is above it.

The sedimentary rock that overlays the granite was obviously laid down by a gigantic flood of waters, and is characterized by strata or layers. The strata are composed of water-borne sediments, such as pebbles, gravel, sand, and clay..

"About three-fourths, perhaps more, of the land area of the earth, 55 million square miles [142 million km2], has sedimentary rock as the bedrock at the surface or directly under the cover of the mantle-rock . . The thickness of the stratified rocks range from a few feet to 40,000 feet [121,920 dm] or more at any one place . . The vast bulk of the stratified rocks is composed of shallow-water deposits."—*O.D. von Engeln and *K.E. Caster, Geology (1952), p. 129.

Within that strata is to be found billions upon billions of fossils. These are the remains—or the casts—of plants and animals that suddenly died. Yet fossilization does not normally occur today, for it requires sudden death, sudden burial, and great pressure.

"To become fossilized a plant or animal must usually have hard parts, such as bone, shell or wood. It must be buried quickly to prevent decay and must be undisturbed throughout the process."—*F.H.T. Rhodes, H.S. Zim, and *P.R. Shaffer, Fossils (1962), p. 10.

The sedimentary strata (also called fossil-bearing strata, or "the geologic column") were laid down at the time of the Flood. There are no fossils in the granite, for that rock was formed prior to the Flood. We would not expect to find fossils in granite since the astounding information given in chapter 3, Origin of the Earth, reveals granite to be "creation rock," antedating the Flood. We there learned that, back in the beginning, granite came into existence in less than three minutes!

MILLIONS OF ANIMALS SUDDENLY DIED —

The quantity of fossils in the sedimentary rocks is enormous.

"At this spot [in Wyoming] the fossil hunters found a hillside literally covered with large fragments of dinosaur bones . . In short, it was a veritable mine of dinosaur bones . . The concentration of the fossils was remarkable; they were piled in like logs in a Jam."—*Edwin Colbert, Men and Dinosaurs (1968), p. 151.

Scores of other instances of immense "fossil graveyards" could be cited. Vast quantities of plants and animals were suddenly buried. So many fossils exist that one researcher made a carbon inventory,—and found that at the present time—most of the carbon in our world is locked within the fossils in the sedimentary strata!

There must have been an immense quantity of living plants and animals before the worldwide Flood occurred. Evidence indicates that, back then, our world had no deserts, high mountains, few or no oceans, and plants and animals flourished even near the poles. So the world would have been filled with vegetation and animal life.

MOST SPECIES ARE ALREADY EXTINCT — Some great natural catastrophe occurred earlier in history, for most of the species which have ever lived are no longer alive!

"Natural selection not only brings new species into existence—if it does—but also eliminates species, and on a colossal scale. It is calculated that 99 per cent of all the species which have ever existed are now extinct. So perhaps it may be more instructive to discover why species vanish than why they appear."—*G.R. Taylor, Great Evolution Mystery (1983), p. 86.

"There is no need to apologize any longer for the poverty of the fossil record. In some ways it has become almost unmanageably rich, and discovery is outpacing integration."—*T.N. George, "Fossils in Evolutionary Perspective," in Science Progress, January 1960, p. 1.

WHY FOSSILS ARE SO IMPORTANT—The term, "evolution," means that species change gradually into different species. If such species changes are occurring today, the transitional forms should be seen. If it has occurred in the past the fossil record will show the transitional forms.

It is of interest that evolution bases its case on the fossils. This is because there is no evidence that evolutionary processes are occurring today. Therefore the Darwinists must consider the fossils to be their primary evidence that it has ever occurred at all.

"The most important evidence for the theory of evolution is that obtained from the study of paleontology [fossils]. Though the study of other branches of zoology, such as comparative anatomy or embryology, might lead one to suspect that animals are all interrelated, it was the discovery of various fossils and their correct placing in relative strata and age that provided the main factual basis for the modern view of evolution."—*G.A. Kerkut, Implications of Evolution (1960), p. 134.

"Although the comparative study of living plants and animals may give very convincing circumstantial evidence, fossils provide the only historical, documentary evidence that life has evolved from simpler to more and more complex forms."—*O. Dunbar, Historical Geology (1960), p. 47.

But just as there are no transitional forms today, there are none in the past either! At the present time, all we have are distinct plant and animal kinds. No transitional species are to be found. (We will frequently refer to these basic types as "species," although man-made classification systems vary, sometimes incorrectly classifying sub-species or genera as "species." See chapter 11, Animal and Plant Species for more on this.) 

In that great window to the past—the fossil record—we also find only distinct plant and animal kinds, with no transitional forms. With the exception of creatures that have become extinct (plants and animals which are no longer alive today, such as the dinosaurs), all fossils of plants and animals which did not become extinct, are just like those living today (stasis). Only distinct species are to be found; there are no halfway, or transitional, species (gaps). Thus there is NO evidence of evolution in the fossils.

ECOLOGICAL ZONATION —

This simple diagram illustrates how, as the rains fell, the slowest creatures were first to be entombed in the sediments, and then larger ones above.

In *Kerkut’s statement, quoted above, it is "the placing" of the fossils in the strata that provides the evidence of evolution. All the Darwinists have to base their case on is placement, not transitional forms. . But what caused that placement?

FOSSIL PLACEMENT—The slowest-moving creatures were buried first; after that, the faster-moving ones. As the waters of the worldwide deluge rose higher and still higher, they first covered the slowest-moving water creatures, and buried them under sediment.

Then the slower-moving land creatures were covered and buried under sediment. Then the more agile creatures (both water and land) were covered. In the fossil-bearing sedimentary strata we frequently find this arrangement, with the smaller creatures in the lower strata and the larger ones higher up.

Yet even the smallest creatures are complex, and just beneath the lowest stratum, the Cambrian, we find no fossils at all! This is both an astonishment and a terrible disappointment to the evolutionists. The lowest-level life-forms in the strata are complex multi-celled animals and plants. 

"It has been argued that the series of paleontological [fossil] finds is too intermittent, too full of ‘missing links’ to serve as convincing proof. If a postulated ancestral type is not found, it is simply stated that it has not so far been found. Darwin himself often used this argument—and in his time it was perhaps justifiable. But it has lost its value through the immense advances of paleobiology [the study of animal fossils] in the twentieth century . . The true situation is that those fossils have not been found which were expected. Just where new branches are supposed to fork off from the main stem it has been impossible to find the connecting types."—*N. Heribert-Nilsson, Synthetische Artbildung (1953), p. 1168 [Director of the Botanical institute at Lund, Sweden].

Each twig on the imaginary plant and animal "family trees" is a distinct plant or animal type, either extinct or like what we have today (although frequently larger). But there are no intermediate life-forms to connect the twigs! There are no branches and no trunk, only "twigs." The rest of the tree is imaginary.

RAPID FORMATION OF IMMENSE DEPOSITS —

Nowhere on earth today do we have fossils forming on the scale that we see in geologic deposits. The Karro Beds in Africa, for example, contain the remains of perhaps 800 billion vertebrates! But such fossils are not forming today. A million fish can be killed in red tides in the Gulf of Mexico, but they simply decay away; they do not become fossils. Similarly, debris from vegetation does not today become coal. In order for fossilization to occur, the vegetation would have to be rapidly buried under an extremely heavy load of sediment. It required massive flood conditions to do all that burying. An immense worldwide catastrophe occurred in the past. It produced the Sicilian hippopotamus beds, the fossils of which are so extensive that they are mined as a source of charcoal; the great mammal beds of the Rockies; the dinosaur beds of the Black Hills and the Rockies, as well as in the Gobi Desert; the fish beds of the Scottish Devonian stratum, the Baltic amber beds, Agate Spring Quarry in Nebraska, and hundreds more. None of this fossil-making is being done today. It only happened one time in history—at the time of the Flood. Frequently the fossils in these beds come from widely separated and differing climatic zones, only to be thrown together in disorderly masses. Nothing but a worldwide Flood can explain this. And those fossils had to be rapidly buried. *Pinna explains why this is so.

"In fact, when an organism dies, the substances that compose its soft parts undergo more or less rapid decay, due to such factors as attack by bacteria and erosion by water (particularly the sea) . . If an organism is to be preserved, it must be protected from destructive agents as quickly as possible . . And the sooner that this consolidation occurs, the more likely it is that the organism will be preserved . . there are also certain layers, such as those formed from extremely finegrained calcareous rocks, which have consolidated so rapidly as to permit the preservation of the most delicate structures of many organisms."—*G. Pinna, The Dawn of Life, pp. 1-2 [Deputy Director of the Museum of Natural History in Milan, Italy].

In spite of these facts, there are still science writers who imagine that when an animals falls into mud, tar, or water—and dies,—it becomes a fossil! But such an idea is only fiction.

"We can easily imagine the predicament which led to the fossilization of the three individuals three fossil birds so long ago. They were probably forced into reluctant flight by some pursuing reptilian predator, only to flop down on the water and mud from which they could not rise."—*R. Peterson, The Birds, p. 10.

PRECAMBRIAN VOID —The lowest stratum with fossils in it is called the "Cambrian." It has a great wealth of over a thousand different types of creatures—all complex and multi-celled marine animals.

"At least 1500 species of invertebrates are known in the Cambrian, all marine, of which 60% are trilobites and 30% brachiopods."—*Maurice Gignoux, Stratigraphic Geology (1955), p. 46.

Above this are the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian, and they all include sea creatures similar to those in the Cambrian. It is not until the Permo-Carboniferous that the first land animals are encountered. The worldwide fossil strata give abundant evidence of a great flood of waters that covered the earth. Below the sedimentary strata, with its hoard of fossils, we find the "Precambrian period,"—and no fossils. (Some scientists claim that a few are there, others say they are not sure, while still others maintain that there are absolutely no fossils below the Cambrian.) The sedimentary strata with their billions of fossils are both a powerful effect and evidence of the Flood. The Precambrian lack of fossils is an additional evidence of it. Evolutionists point to these strata with their fossils as proof of evolution. But throughout the fossil rock we should find transitional—evolving—types of plants and animals. In addition, at the bottom below the Cambrian, should be the types that evolved into those in the Cambrian.

"One can no longer dismiss this event by assuming that all Pre-Cambrian rocks have been too greatly altered by time to allow the fossils ancestral to the Cambrian metazoans to be preserved . . Even if all the Pre-Cambrian ancestors of the Cambrian metazoans were similarly soft-bodied and therefore rarely preserved, far more abundant traces of their activities should have been found in the Pre-Cambrian strata than has proved to be the case. Neither can the general failure to find Pre-Cambrian animal fossils be charged to any lack of looking."—*W.B. Harland and *Rudwick, "The Great Infra-Cambrian Ice-Age," in Scientific American, 211(1964), pp. 34-36.

"Why should such complex organic forms (in the Cambrian) be in rocks about six hundred million years old, and be absent or unrecognized in the records of the preceding two billion years? If there has been evolution of life, the absence of requisite fossils in the rocks older than the Cambrian is puzzling."—*G.M. Kay and *E.H. Colbert, Stratigraphy and Life History (1965), pp. 102-103.

FOSSIL TREES—

As a result of upheaval of ground, combined with successive depositions of sedimentary layers, there are instances in which vertical trees are to be found at more than one level. Given the chaotic conditions at the time of the Flood, this would be understandable. Fossil trees have been found horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and upside down.

COAL AND OIL—Most geologists agree that coal came from ancient plants, and oil came from ancient marine animals (primarily the soft parts of invertebrates, but also fish). Neither coal nor petroleum is naturally being formed today. None of it is found in Pleistocene (ice-age) deposits, but instead was quickly laid down during the Flood, before the glacial ice flows began.

"Petroleum occurs in rocks of all ages from the Cambrian to the Pliocene inclusive, but no evidence has been found to prove that any petroleum has been formed since the Pliocene, although sedimentation patterns and thicknesses in Pleistocene and Recent sediments are similar to those in the Pliocene where petroleum has formed."—*Ben B. Cox, "Transformation of Organic Material into Petroleum under Geological Conditions," Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, May 1946, p. 647.

Why did no petroleum form after the Pliocene era? This is a mystery to evolutionary geologists, but it is no problem to Flood geology. From the beginning of the Cambrian to the end of the Pliocene was when the Flood occurred. The apparent absence of formation of petroleum subsequent to the Pliocene must be explained in any study of the transformation of organic material into petroleum."—*Ibid. (Some oil deposits have been found below the Cambrian level, but it was afterward learned that they seeped there from fossil-bearing strata above.) Great masses of vegetation, that became the coal we use today, were quickly laid down. Because of Flood conditions, other things were also deposited in those coal strata:  

(1) Marine fossils (tubeworms, corals, sponges, mollusks, etc.) are often found in coal beds.

(2) Large boulders are found in them.

(3) Fossil trees are found standing on an angle or even upside down in coal beds.

(4) Washed-in marine sediments will split a coal seam into two.

(5) Sediment "under-soils" will frequently be under them.

(6) Strata of deposited limestone, shale (hardened clay), or sandstone will be found in between coal deposits. These strata are often found scores of times in seams of coal.

Evolutionists continue to lie and say  that oil and gas require millions of years to form, and could not be rapidly produced from vegetation, as Flood geology would require. But recent experiments have shown that petroleum can be quickly made:

"There is great promise in a system being developed by government scientists that converts organic material to oil and gas by treating it with carbon monoxide and water at high temperature and pressure . . By using the waste-to-oil process, 1.1 billion barrels  of oil could be gleaned from the 880 million tons of organic wastes suitable for conversion [each year]."—*L.L. Anderson, "Oil from Garbage," in Science Digest, July 1973, p. 77.

Here is an instance in which recently formed coal occurred:

"Petzoidt (1882) describes very remarkable observations which he made during the construction of a railway bridge at Alt-Breisach, near Freiburg. The wooden piles which had been rammed into the ground were compressed by overriding blocks. An examination of these compressed piles showed that in the center of the compressed piles was a black, coal-like substance. In continuous succession from center to surface was blackened, dark-brown, light-brown and finally yellow-colored wood. The coal-like substance corresponded, in its chemical composition, to anthracite coal, and the blackened wood resembled brown coal."—*Otto Stutzer, Geology of Coal (1940), pp. 105-106.

"From all available evidence it would appear that coal may form in a very short time, geologically speaking it conditions are favorable."—*E.S. Moore, Coal (1940), p. 143.

THE PROBLEM OF GRADED BEDDING —Geologists maintain that the sedimentary strata was gradually laid down over hundreds of millions of years. But various aspects of the strata indicate it was laid down rapidly under alluvial conditions. Rapid transport of various materials by water appears to have been the cause. One example of this is graded bedding. In the strata we will find a layer of coarse pebbles and small stones, with smaller pebbles above them, grading off above to still finer materials such as sand. Below this graded bedding will be another graded bedding where the process has been repeated as another collection of sediments was washed in. The phenomenon of graded bedding (coarse conglomerate on the bottom, with finer material graded upward) is difficult to explain on the basis of uniformity, but not on the basis of Genesis 8:1-3 where we are told that the Creator dried up the flood-waters by strong winds that drove the waters by a "going and returning." This process, too, would more readily account for interbedding, the repetitive alternation of certain layers, in some instances as many as 150 strata. Uniformitarian geology offers no satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon. Then there is the matter of disconformities, that is, a sudden change in fossil types with no accompanying change in the physical composition of the rock formation, or the appearance of fossils separated by a tremendous time gap. This is not accounted for in uniformitarianism. If the deposition had been uniform, as claimed, such disconformities should not have occurred. The perplexing occurrence of so-called "older fossils" above "younger fossils—"which paleontologists try to account for by thrust faults, can much more readily be accounted for by accepting the occurrence of worldwide volcanic and seismic upheavals such as accompanied the Deluge. In fact, the mere presence of vast numbers of fossils is explainable only if plants and animals were suddenly inundated, trapped, and buried in moving masses of sediment. It is almost impossible to explain how organisms could have been transformed into fossils if they had simply perished and had remained exposed to the decaying process of air, sun, and bacteria.

"There are so-called fossil graveyards in which is often found a rich conglomeration of organisms. One such found in Eocene lignite deposits of the Geiseltal in central Germany, contains more than six thousand remains of vertebrate animals together with an even greater number of mollusks, insects, and plants. So well-preserved are many of these animals that it is still possible to study the contents of their stomachs. It is easy to imagine how these could have been deposited by the swirling and receding waters of a great flood, but not how this could have happened under uniformitarian conditions."—H.R. Siegler, Evolution or Degeneration—Which? (1972), pp. 78-79.

UNITY OF THE STRATA—Basic to evolutionary belief is the lie that each stratum was laid down during a period of millions of years while the other strata were laid down in other epochs or eras. All of the strata are said to have required two billion years to form. In contrast, the evidence indicates that the fossils in each strata were laid down rapidly rather than slowly. But, in addition, there is also evidence that each stratum was deposited at about the same time as all the other strata! The primary difference is that each layer has somewhat different fossils in it, but this too would easily be explained by a gradually rising flood that washed in, and then quickly buried great masses of plants and animals. One layer and then the next was rather quickly laid down by the Flood. Two of the most important boundary points in the geologic column are the Paleozoic to Mesozoic, and the Mesozoic to Cenozoic. Careful research by *Wiedmann in Germany has revealed that there is no observable time break between these, the two most obvious divisions in the geologic column!

"The boundaries between eras, periods and epochs on the geological time-scale generally denote sudden and significant changes in the character of the fossil remains. For example, the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic era (about 180 million years ago) was supposedly marked by spontaneous appearance of new species . . A reassessment of the data by Jost Wiedmann of the University of Tübingen in the Federal Republic of Germany, gives a clearer picture of evolution at the boundaries of the Mesozoic (225 million to 70 million years ago). He concludes that there were no worldwide extinctions of species or spontaneous appearances of new species at the boundaries."—*Report of the International Geological Congress at Montreal: "Fossil Changes: ‘Normal Evolution,’ " in Science News, September 2, 1972, p. 152.

This is an important point that *Wiedmann brings to the attention of the scientific world. While most evolutionists maintain that the geologic column slowly formed amid the peace and tranquility of uniformitarian ages, there are other evolutionists who declare that there must have been a succession of several catastrophes that accomplished the task. But *Wiedmann carefully analyzed the two principle boundaries in the column—and discovered that "no worldwide extinctions of species or spontaneous appearances of new species" occurred at these boundaries. This is important. The entire geologic column is an integral unit and was all rapidly laid down at about the same time.

Here are some additional reasons why this is so:

(1) Rapid or no Fossils. Each stratum had to be laid down rapidly, or fossils would not have resulted.

(2) Rapid or no Rocks. The physical structure and interconnections of the strata require rapid deposition in order for them to form into rocks.

(3) No Erosion between Strata. Each strata was laid directly over the one below it, since there is no trace of erosion between them. Each strata was formed continuously and rapidly, and then—with no time-lapse erosion in between—the next strata formed continuously and rapidly over that. And on and on it went.

(4) Layers not Worldwide. There are many "unconformities," where one stratum ends horizontally and another begins. But there is no worldwide unconformity; instead one stratum will gradually grade imperceptibly into another, which thereupon succeeds it with more continuous and rapid deposition, without a time break at any point.

(5) Generally no Clear Boundaries. There is rarely a clear physical boundary between strata formations. Generally they tend to merge and mingle with each other in a zone of considerable thickness.

STRATA SEQUENCE AND OVERTHRUSTS —

IF evolution was correct, each layer of the cake would be quietly set in place on top of the preceding one over a span of long ages. But instead we find "disconformity" and "overthrusts." A "recent stratum" which should therefore be near the top, will be underneath several "older strata." This can easily be explained by the turbulence of a single worldwide Flood which laid down all the strata within a relatively short time. But evolutionary theory is totally baffled by such a situation. So its supporters have invented the theory of "overthrusts." As we mentioned in chapter 12, the Matterhorn—one of the highest and most prominent mountains in Switzerland — is supposed to have moved horizontally many miles from some distant place. Evolutionary theories about rock strata require such a hypothesis. Either the mountains pack up and move to other lands, or evolution dies a sickening death. The entire Matterhorn rests on top of what is theorized as "younger strata," therefore it is said to have hiked over the hills to its present location. The same is true for the Appalachians, which climbed up out of the Atlantic onto the North American continent. They arrived before the Pilgrims!

But, in reality, overthrusts are but another effect of the Flood. For example, at one point, some land animals and plants were covered by Flood-borne sediments. Then, from some distant location, waters with fish were carried in and deposited in a pile of sediment above the land creatures. And so it went. A related problem is that, although the very bottom stratum should always be the Cambrian,—in actuality, many different strata are found at the bottom!

"Further, how many geologists have pondered the fact that lying on the crystalline basement are found from place to place not merely Cambrian, but rocks of all ages?"—*E.M. Spieker, "Mountain-Building Chronology and Nature of Geologic Time-Scale," in Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, August 1956, p. 1805.

How do you solve a problem like that? Amid the confusion of a worldwide deluge, and bursts of massive earth movements and hurricane winds, all kinds of strata patterns could occur. Flood theory can solve questions that evolutionary theory cannot answer.

FLOOD PREDICTIONS —If the Flood caused the sedimentary rock strata, with their billions of fossils, then the following points would be expected;—and, upon examination of the fossils in the strata—they all prove true:

(1) Animals living at the lowest levels would tend to be buried in the lowest strata.

(2) Creatures buried together—would tend to be buried with other animals that lived in the same region or ecological community.

(3) Hydrologic forces (the suck and drag of rapidly moving water) would tend to sort out creatures of similar forms. Because of lower hydraulic drag, those with the simplest shapes would tend to be buried first. 

(4) Backboneless sea creatures (marine invertebrates), since they live on the sea bottom, would normally be found in the bottom strata. 

(5) Fish would be found in higher strata since they can swim up close to the surface. 

(6) Amphibians and reptiles would be buried higher than the fishes, but as a rule, below the land animals. 

(7) Few land plants or animals would be in the lower strata. 

(8) The first land plants would be found where the amphibians were found. 

(9) Mammals and birds would generally be found in higher levels than reptiles and amphibians. 

(10) Because many animals tend to go in herds in time of danger, we would find herd animals buried together. 

(11) In addition, the larger, stronger animals would tend to sort out into levels apart from the slower ones.

(12) Relatively few birds would be found in the strata, since they could fly to the highest points. 

(13) Few humans would be found in the strata. They would be at top, trying to stay afloat until they died; following  which they would sink to the surface of the sediments and decompose. 

In the above 13 points, we have a solid Flood explanation for what we find in the sequence of fossils in the geologic column. Yet, lacking any other evidence to bring forward, it is that very sequence of fossils placement which evolutionists declare to be the primary evidence that animals have "evolved" from one another!

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE MYTHICAL"GEOLOGIC COLUMN"—

Compare the following analysis with the chart with the two-page chart near the beginning of chapter 12, Fossils and Strata:

2 - RECORDS ABOUT THE FLOOD

WORLDWIDE FLOOD — Ours is the water planet. We have 330 million cubic miles of it! Water covers 72 percent of our planet’s surface. Every cubic mile of seawater holds over 150 million tons  of minerals. On the average, rain pours down on our planet at the rate of 1.5 tons a day. At the present time, there is 70 billion gallons of water for every person alive. The oceans of the world are so vast and deep that if Earth had an absolutely level crust, the sea would form an envelope over 8,800 feet  deep. The antediluvian world had never seen rain before. But when it came, it really came. When the Genesis Flood began, the vast water canopy collapsed and "the floodgates of the sky were opened." Torrential rains fell for six weeks.

FLOOD STORIES — Races and tribes all over the world have, as part of their traditions, stories about a great flood of water that covered the whole earth. The event was so world-shattering and life-changing that, from parents to children, stories of that great upheaval passed down through the generations. Gradually, as mythologies developed, legends about this flood became part of them. These stories include various aspects of the Genesis account of the Flood:

"It has long been known that legends of a great flood, in which almost all men perished, are widely diffused over the world."—*George Frazer, Folklore in the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (1919), p. 105.

NOAH’S NAME —  the story of the Ark and the Flood is to be found among 120 different tribes of earth, should we not expect that Noah’s name would be remembered by some of them also?

Noah’s name is found in the stories and languages of mankind. If so, that would be a striking cultural evidence of the worldwide Flood which, itself, left so many physical evidences upon our globe. Not only do the rock strata and their fossil contents vindicate the veracity of the Flood story, but the languages of man do also! Here are some interesting facts

Sanskrit of ancient India is a basic language, dating back nearly to the time of the Flood. According to the legends of India, Ma-nu was the man who built the boat and then, with seven others, entered it and were saved. Ma is an ancient word for "water." Ma-nu could then mean "Noah of the waters." In Sanscrit, Manu later came to mean "mankind."

The most ancient man in the Germanic tribes was called Mannus. Mannus was also the name of the Lithuanian Noah.

In the Hebrew, "karat" is the same as "Armenia." The prefix Ar means mountain, so "Armenia" probably means the mountain of Meni. According to Genesis 8:4, Noah landed somewhere in the Ararat mountains. The legendary founder of the first Egyptian dynasty was Menes, and Minos was the man who is said to have been the first man of Crete. The nearby Greeks said that Minos was the son of their god, Zeus, and the ruler of the sea.

The English (as well as all Germanic) words for man comes from the Sanskrit, manu.

The Egyptian god, Nu was the god of waters who sent a flood to destroy mankind. They identified Nu with the rain and the atmosphere. Summerians taught that Anu was the god of the atmosphere. The rainbow they called "the great bow of Anu."

In ancient Africa, the king in the Congo was called Mani Congo. Later, Mani became the title of respect given to all leading men of the country.

In Japan, manu became maru, a name included in most Japanese ship names. Chinese mythology taught that Hakudo Maru came down from heaven to teach men how to build ships. We know that Noah was the first shipbuilder and that all ancient and modern hulls are basically designed in the same manner. The ancient boats were copied from an archtype. The Ark was the great pattern boat. Men who had to traverse the coasts of the new oceans knew that, nestled in the mountains of Ararat, was a boat which had successfully done it. They carefully copied its structural design.

In Japanese, Maru also means a protective circle or enclosure of refuge. The first people to inhabit Japan were called Ainu, and mai means "original man" in some Australian aboriginal languages.

Among the North American Indians, manu became minne, meaning "water" for the Sioux; hence our Minneapolis, and Minnesota, Minnetoba, meant "water prairie" to the Assiniboines.

In South America, we find the Nahuatl, managuac (our Managua, capital of Nicaragua) which means "surrounded by ponds." The fabled city, Manoa (meaning "Noah’s water"), was supposed to be the capital of the god El Dorado. A number of important rivers in South America are derived from manu: The Amazon (named after the Manau), the Manu in Peru, and also the Muymanu, Tahuamanu, Pariamanu, Tacuatimanu, etc. In all of these, manu means "river" or "water."

The Egyptians invented their picture writing— hieroglyphics, we call them—soon after the Flood. Their word for water was a wavy line. When the alphabet was later developed, that symbol became the letter "m," for mayim, the Semitic word for water. It later became the Greek letter Mu, the Roman letter Em, and our Western M.

The Assyrian name for "rain" was zunnu. The Roman god, Janus (our January), was originally the Estruscan father god of the world and inventor of ships. This could have easily have been derived from the Hebrew word for "God of Noah," and by the Estruscans pronounced Jah Nu.

The Greek sea-goddess was naiade, which meant "water goddess."

The ancient Norse of the Scandinavians called their ship god, Njord (Niord), who lived at Noatun, the great harbor of the god-ships. Noa in Norse is related to the Icelandic nor, which meant "ship."

The original Sanskrit word for "ship" was nau, which later passed into our English word, navy, nautical, nausea (sea sickness).

(We are indebted to Bengt Sage for the above information. See "Noah and Human Entomology" in Creation the Cutting Edge, pp., 48-52. The publisher, Creation Life Publishers [Master Books], in El Cajon, California has many, many other excellent books. Write them for a book order sheet.)

THE FLOOD IN CHINESE

 — According to Harvard’s Chinese-Japanese Yenching Library, written Chinese is  Dated at approximately 2500 B.C. This correlates closely with the end of the Flood. It is of interest that two of the earliest written languages—Egyptian and Chinese—were both picture writing.

CREATION AND THE FLOOD IN CHINESE

— In very early times, events from the Creation and Flood were interwoven into the picture writing of this ancient written language. 

Because of its ancientness, the pictorial Chinese script has information for us from the very earliest times. In picture writing, it portrays facts recorded in the book of Genesis. 

C.H. Kang and Ethel A. Nelson did intensive research into that script and wrote the book, The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language. This is a fascinating volume, one you will want to read for yourself. Here are a few insights from the book: 

(1) The Chinese character for Devil is formed from three other characters: man, garden, and private (Genesis 3:1-7).

(2) Tempter is a combination of three words: devil, cover, and tree (Genesis 3:1-6).

(3) Righteousness combines sheep, I or me, and hand (Genesis 4:2-5). (Genesis 4:2-5). (Genesis 4:2-5).

(4) The Chinese word for Total is a uniting of eight people, who join hands over the earth (Genesis 7:7,13; 8:13-16).

(5) Boat, in Chinese, brings together two words into one. The two words are vessel and eight (Genesis 7:7,13; 8:13).

(6) Rebellion and Confusion have the same script: a linking together of the words for tongue and walking (Genesis 11:4-9).

(7) One example of the unusual discoveries is Garden or Field which is a square. Inside the square are four straight lines radiating outward in a "plus sign" shape. According to Genesis 2:9-14, a river flowed outward in four streams and watered the entire garden.

Kang and Nelson revealed dozens of other Chinese words suggesting a relationship to Genesis. You will find the entire book very interesting. (In 1997, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Ginger Tong Chock, and Richard E. Broadberry released God’s Promise to the Chinese, a book which updated the study using oracle bone characters, the most ancient Chinese writing known.)

As they arrived in their new home after the scattering from the tower of Babel, and formulated their picture writing, the Chinese placed in their "picture words" recollections of those important earlier events: the Fall of Man, the early sacrificial system, the worldwide Flood, and the Tower of Babel. These are four of the outstanding events described in Genesis 3 to 11.

You may recall our earlier mention that the Chinese recorded the solar eclipse of 2250 B.C., the earliest exact historical date in history and confirmed scientifically (see chapter 4, Age of the Earth). Biblical records indicate the Flood occurred very close to that time.

this is the population chart of all humans since the flood:

THE SIZE OF NOAH’S ARK—Based on the Hebrew cubit of 18.5 inches [563.88 cm], it has been estimated that if that great boat—the Ark—was only one-half the size stated in Genesis 6:14-16—and omitting water creatures—it could still have held two or seven of each basic kind of animal and bird. The remainder of the boat was probably used for food storageif that great boat—the Ark—was only one-half the size stated in Genesis 6:14-16—and omitting water creatures—it could still have held two or seven of each basic kind of animal and bird. The remainder of the boat was probably used for food storage. But that estimate is based on the smaller Hebrew cubit in the dimensions of the Ark. However, it is very likely that Moses used the cubit of his time—the Egyptian cubit—when giving the dimensions of the Ark. This would make that giant boat even larger. Here is the data: But that estimate is based on the smaller Hebrew cubit in the dimensions of the Ark. However, it is very likely that Moses used the cubit of his time—the Egyptian cubit—when giving the dimensions of the Ark. This would make that giant boat even larger. Here is the data:

According to Genesis 6:15, the Ark was 300 cubits long, 59 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. The Babylonian cubit was 19.8 inches, the later Hebrew regular cubit was 17.5 inches, and the Egyptian cubit was 20.65 inches. Based on the Hebrew cubit, the dimensions of the Ark would have been 437.5 feet long, 72.92 feet  wide, and 43.75 feet  high. With three decks in the Ark, it had 95,747 square feet and a total volume of 1,395,734 cubic feet. Its cubic tonnage would be 13,960

Based on the Egyptian cubit used in the time of Moses, the measurements of the Ark would be 516.25 feet long, its width would be 86.04 feet wide, and its height would be 51.625 feet. On this basis—with three stories—its square footage would be 1,332,545 square feet, and its volume would be 2,293,087 cubic feet. Its cubic tonnage would be 22,930.

The Ark might have been more like a barge, not a ship with sloping sides, so it had a much larger carrying capacity. It has been reckoned that, even if measured by the smaller 18.5-inch [563.88 cm] cubit of later times, the Ark would have been so huge that 522 modern railroad box cars could have fitted inside it! One each of every species of air-breathing creatures in the world today could be comfortably carried in only 150 box cars.  For 4,400 years after the Ark was constructed, ships rarely exceeded 150 to 200 feet [457-6,096 dm] in length. It was not until 1854 that a ship was built with a longer length than the Ark: the Eturia, a Cunard liner constructed in England. It was not until after World War II that ships were built which had a larger volume and cubic tonnage—the ocean-going oil supertankers.

FLOOD CHRONOLOGY—

CREATION STORIES—

Before concluding this section, it is of interest that, not only are Flood stories found worldwide, but Creation stories are also. In both we find parallels to the accounts given in Genesis. We would not have room here to discuss this; but, for example, man was created from clay, and there was an ominous serpent that caused mankind great trouble. It is frequently thought to have been winged.

"An extraordinary number of religious traditions among diverse peoples—Jews, Christians, Moslems, Native Americans, Polynesians, Austrahari aborigines—describe living things as having been originally shaped from clay."—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 84.

"Dragon legends have persisted for centuries in Norse epics, medieval English ballads, Wagnerian operas, Japanese art and Chinese folktales."—*Op. cit, p. 145.

CONDITIONS BEFORE THE FLOOD

What were conditions like prior to the Flood? There are several pre-Flood evidences that we find today:

WARMER CLIMATE

—Fossil-bearing rocks from all "ages" reveal that a worldwide warm climate once existed, with no distinct climatic zones such as we now have. For example, palm trees and giant ferns grew in the far north and far south. These were buried at the time of the Flood, revealing what the local climate was like prior to that time.

"It has long been felt that the average climate of the earth throughout time has been milder and more homogenous than it is today. If so, the present certainly is not a very good key to the past in terms of climate."

—*R.H. Dott and *R.L. Batten, Evolution of the Earth (1971), p. 298.

Prior to the Flood, the climate worldwide was warm and uniformly pleasant.

"In those days"when the dinosaurs lived], ( meaning before the flood 4,500 yrs ago) the earth had a tropical or sub-tropical climate over much of its land surface, and in the widespread tropical lands there was an abundance of lush vegetation. The land was low and there were no high mountains forming physical or climatic barriers."

—*E.H. Colbert, "Evolutionary Growth Rates in the Dinosaurs," in Scientific Monthly, August 1949, p. 71.

"Climatic conditions were then much more uniform over the earth than now. Considerable limestone formations, of Cambrian age at high latitudes, indicate strongly that they were there deposited in relatively warm or temperate waters."

—*W.J. Miller, An Introduction to Historical Geology (1952), p. 116.

"The general distribution and character of the rocks and their fossil content point to more uniform climatic conditions than those of today. Fossils in the Arctic rocks are not essentially different from those of low latitudes."

—*Op. cit., p. 143.

"In the case of the Devonian, such evidence is indicative of a worldwide mild climate."

—*O.D. von Engeln and *K.E. Caster, Geology (1952), p. 596.

"As for the earlier Paleozoic periods, the character and distribution of Mississippian fossils rather clearly prove absence of well-defined climatic zones like those of today."

—*W. J. Miller, An Introduction to Historical Geology (1952), p. 169.

Even evolutionists recognize that coal was formed from deposits of massive amounts of vegetation, primarily trees. It is now known that large coal deposits exist today in the continent of Antarctica. This is another evidence of an earlier, worldwide warm climate.

"There would have been no white polar caps or reddish-brown desert regions, for thick green vegetation covered almost all of the land areas, even in polar regions (thick coal deposits have been discovered in the mountains of Antarctica)."

—John C. Whitcomb, Early Earth (1986), p. 22.

The Antarctic once had an abundance of vegetation and large trees, as is shown by "widespread discoveries of coal and petrified wood." The Arctic regions were once tropical:

"Geologists mine coal for science in . . the Horlick Mountains [of the Antarctic]. The Ohio State University scientists found coal that dates from the Permian Period, about 250 million years ago, when Antarctica had a comparatively warm climate." "Five geologists last year drilled and blasted 20 feet to bring out virtually unweathered Antarctic coal. Widespread discoveries of surface coal and petrified wood show that Antarctica had luxuriant vegetation 250 million years and more ago."

—*D.M. Tyree, "New Era in the Loneliest Continent," Natíonal Geographic, February 1963, pp. 288, 296.

"Baron Toll, the Arctic explorer, found remains of a saber-toothed tiger and a 90-foot [274 dm] plum tree with green leaves and ripe fruit on its branches over 600 miles [966 km] north of the Arctic Circle in the New Siberian Islands. Today the only vegetation that grows there is a one-inch high willow."

—Joseph C. Dillow, The Waters Above (1982), p. 346.

"Fossil plants found by Chilean scientists on King George Island puts Antarctica’s ancient past in a temperate clime. Further proof of the continent’s warm ancestry lies in its coal, the transformed remains of forests long dead."

—*W.R. Curtsinger, "Antarctica’s Newer Side," National Geographic, November 1971, p. 653.

"Dr. Jack A. Wolfe in a [1978] U.S. Geological Survey Report told that Alaska once teemed with tropical plants. He found evidence of man-groves, palm trees, Burmese lacquer trees, and groups of trees that now produce nutmeg and Macassar oil."

—*Op. cit. p. 348.

WATER VAPOR—What produced the changeover from a worldwide warm climate to our present climate zones that vary between very hot to icy cold? It was probably a change in the earth’s atmosphere. There are three factors in the atmosphere that provide us with whatever greenhouse-type climate we have today: ozone, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. If, prior to the Flood, one or more of these were more abundant in the air above us, a profound change in our worldwide climate would occur. The most powerful of the three is water vapor. Indeed, a lot of the water in our present oceans, came out of the skies at the time of the Flood! 

THE VAPOR CANOPY—The pre-Flood atmosphere contained an immense amount of moisture, which made the entire planet warm.  A water-vapor canopy covered our planet in ancient times. It is called the "vapor canopy." The evidence is clearly available that tropical plants were once in the far north and south. Only a great increase in encircling water could possibly explain that earlier worldwide warm climate, just like the Bible says, and scientists are just catching up with the bible.

"An increase of water vapor . . would raise the temperature of the earth’s surface . . and would increase the temperature of the air at a height of four or five miles [6-8 km] more than that at the surface, and so lessen the decrease of temperature with height."

—*C.E.P. Brooks, Climate Through the Ages (1949), p. 115.

Apart from a massive increase in pre-Flood water vapor, the situation we find in the rock strata is unexplainable.

"There is little evidence that climatic belts existed in the earlier history of the earth, yet climatic zonation, both latitudinal and vertical, is clearly apparent in all parts of the earth today. This anomalous situation is difficult to explain.

"It is impossible to reconstruct a super-continent which could lie entirely within one climatic regime. Any rotating planet, orbiting the sun on an inclined axis of rotation, must have climatic zonation. It is obvious, therefore, that climatic conditions in the past were significantly different from those in evidence today."

—*Edgar B. Heylmun, "Should We Teach Uniformitarianism?" in Journal of Geological Education, January 1971, p. 36.

"The principle atmospheric absorber for the entrant sunlight is water vapor. Absorption by ozone being a minor factor qualitatively, the other gases are virtually transparent. Absorption of the outgoing radiation from the earth is again largely due to water vapor, with carbon dioxide and ozone playing lesser roles . . The part absorbed tends to warm the atmosphere, and just as the warm glass of the greenhouse tends to raise the temperature of the interior, the water vapor tends to raise that of the earth’s surface below it. This surface, or any object on it, is constantly exchanging radiation with the water vapor in the atmosphere, so the temperature of the surface is closely dependent upon the amount and temperature of this vapor."

—*Harold K. Blum, Time’s Arrow and Evolution (1951), p. 57.

"Calculations show that a 50-percent decrease in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air will lower the average temperature of the earth 6.9 degrees Fahrenheit. We can be reasonably sure that such a sharp drop in temperature would cause glaciers to spread across the earth."

—*Gilbert N. Plass, "Carbon Dioxide and Climate," in Scientific American, Vol. 201, July 1959, p. 42.

It has been suggested that our planet was not inclined 23 degrees prior to the Flood. But, if the earth was not then on an inclined axis (which may well not be true), worldwide yearly temperatures would be even more extreme than now! The only solution to the problem is that a sizable portion of the water in the oceans was once in the skies overhead.

LOWER SEA LEVELS—Before the Flood there were probably only broad rivers. The enormous concave ocean basins we have today—in some places over five miles [8 km] deep—were not needed then. The entire earth must, indeed, have been very beautiful. There are several lines of evidence that tell us that, at some earlier time, the ocean basins FILLED with water. Here are some of them:

(1) Seamounts were first discovered by a naval captain during World War II. As a personal research project while on trips back and forth across the Pacific, Harry H. Hess, commander of an attack transport, the U.S.S. Cape Johnson, kept his deep-water echo sounder turned on all the time. Continuous profiles of the sea bottom were recorded on graph paper. Analyzing the data, he discovered extinct volcanoes hundreds of feet beneath the sea with their tops flattened off.  

None of them broke the surface of the ocean. The name "seamounts" was given to these formations. (An alternate name for them is "guyots.") What could have caused them? Volcanic activity began before the Flood ended. The volcanoes in the basin of the ocean, which became extinct before the seas had filled, had their summits eroded away—flattened out—by storm and wave action as sea level reached those summits. The oceans kept filling and the horizontal tops became submerged, some distance below the surface. This would also explain some of the coral atolls in the Pacific. Coral only grows near the surface, yet the remains of earlier coral are to be found deeper in the ocean. It has been said that low-lying and partially or totally submerged volcanoes, in the center of these coral formations, probably sunk at some time in the past. That is possible. Or they could have been covered by the rising ocean. Oceanic volcanoes could also have blown their tops, as Krakatoa did a century ago, but such explosions would not lower the tops as far down as they presently are, nor would they flatten the tops. As the oceans neared their present level, infilling would slow and coral would have time to build atolls above those particular guyots.

(2) Similarities between plants and trees of now widely separated areas. Vegetation in Brazil has a number of remarkable similarities to that of western Africa. Climatic conditions may be the sole cause of this similarity of vegetation on separated continents. But the possibility that the South Atlantic in ancient times may not have existed as a broad ocean could also be a factor.

It is clear that remarkable evidence of a former worldwide Flood is abundant. Wherever we turn we encounter new insights into its effects. A sizable amount of additional evidence will be found in the appendix (at the back of this chapter, Effects of the Flood, on our website). The Whitcomb and Morris’ book, The Genesis Flood, will also provide you with much additional scientific data on this topic.

4 - EFFECTS OF THE FLOOD

With the exception of its initial Creation, our world has been changed more by the Flood than by any other event in the history of this planet. There is hardly a place where you and I can look, which has not been drastically affected by the Flood and its immediate aftereffects: the deserts, the seas, the river canyons, the hills, the plains, and the mountain ranges. Here are several examples of these effects:

CONTINENTAL SHELVES—The continental shelves that surround all the continents on the globe are another evidence of a lower—or a gradually rising-sea level at some earlier time. These are ledges protruding out from land beneath the oceans. From shoreline at the edge of the continents, the sea slowly becomes deeper for a number of miles. This outward extension can be as much as 750 miles [1206.9 km], but the average width is about 42 miles [67.59 km]. Then, at a definite, higher first point, it descends gradually to a lower second point which has a maximum depth of about 300 feet [914 dm] to about 1500 feet [1,310 dm], with a mean depth of about 430 feet [4,572 dm]. Beyond this second point, it then descends more rapidly to the sea bottom.

Here are four possibilities for the origin of continental shelves:

(1) The first or second point of sudden change may mark the ancient sea level.

(2) The second point may also mark the freeze point, the place where the gradually filling sea greatly slowed for a time as the rapidly obscuring volcanic dusts in the skies caused the polar areas to begin capturing large quantities of water and transform it into thick masses of ice. During that time of slower infilling, gigantic waves and storms could have eroded out massive sections.

Above the first point where the drop is much more shallow, the storms of the main Flood may have subsided and the gentler seas may have caused less erosion as infilling was completed.

(3) The first point edge of the shelves may also mark the point of orogeny (mountain building), the point where the continental blocks began uplifting and/or the—what is now marine—blocks lowered as the result of fault slippage.

(4) The water in the oceans rose to a certain height. Then, later, at the time of glacial-melt, as the ice sheets melted, this water flowed into the seas brought the water level up to its present height.

Those are the possibilities, but however it may have happened, it took the Flood to produce the continental shelves.

"The ocean basins can thus be characterized as overfull—water not only fills the ocean basins proper coming up to the continental shelves, but extends out over the low margins of the continents."

—*J.V. Trumbull, et. al., "An Introduction to the Geology and Mineral Resources of the Continental Shelves of the Americas" in U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1067 (1958), p. 11.

"Perhaps the ocean volume increased enough to explain most of the relative sinking of the seamounts. If the latter idea is correct, something on the order of a 30 percent increase in the volume of the oceans must have occurred during the last "100 million years."

—*Edwin L. Hamilton, "The Last Geographic Frontier: The Sea Floor," in Scientific Monthly, December 1957, p. 305.

Mountain Building, indication is given that the mountains and continents rose both during the latter part of the Flood (late Pliocene) and again just after it. This two-fold uplift might help explain the two continental shelf point pauses in rising ocean levels.

SEAMOUNT CORALS—Coral and foraminifera are small plants containing sizable amounts of calcium, which grow close to the surface of the sea. Deposits of these small creatures have been found on the flat-topped seamounts. At some earlier time coral were growing on those deeply submerged seamounts! This is an important point, since coral cannot live below a depth of 200 feet [609 dm]. At some earlier time, the sea must have been far below its present sea level. The 100 million year estimate, given by *Hamilton in the above quotation, is based on the fact that coral can only live and grow near the ocean’s surface. Evolutionary theory has assigned those deposits to the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary, but a sudden infilling of water by the Flood could answer the point just as well. It is of interest that a full 30 percent of the oceans lies above those coral deposits on the submerged seamounts!

"For some reason that is not known, probably having to do with isostatic adjustment or subcrustal forces, the whole great undersea range sank and, initially, sank fast enough to kill the reef coral when the coral dropped below its life zone of upper water."

—*Op. cit., p. 303.

Evolutionists want to falsley assume that the cause was a lowering of the ocean basins. But that solution would only add 70 percent more water to those oceans! Something more beside seafloor sinking is needed. Submarine canyons are yet another evidence that lower seas gradually filled and became our present large oceans.

ORIGIN OF THE OCEANS—The Flood, described in Genesis 6-9, has had more profound effects on our planet than probably any other single event since its initial creation, with the exception of the Fall of man. An astounding example of this is the vast oceans which surround the continents on every side. With our present continents and deep ocean basins, if all the water in our present atmosphere were to suddenly fall as rain, it would cover the entire surface of the globe to an average depth of only two inches (*C.S. Fox, Water, 1952). Prior to the Flood, we apparently had a far greater amount of moisture in the atmosphere. That would have given a more uniformly warm climate to the entire world, and would explain why fossils of tropical plants have been found in the far north and south. Massive amounts of water poured out of the skies. In addition, large amounts of water apparently were released from within the earth. Because of that, we now have so much water in our oceans that, if the land were leveled out, "the Earth would be completely covered by water about 0.75 mile [1.2 km] deep" (Creation Research Society Quarterly, June 1987, p. 27). Another estimate figures it at 1.7 miles [2.7 km]: CRSQ, September 1987, p. 54. 

There are evidences that much of the present sea bottom was once dry land:

"There are fossil landforms preserved in the depths of the sea, where they are disturbed only by light currents and the slow rain of pelagic material from the waters above."

—*E.L. Hamilton, "The Last Geographic Frontier: The Sea Floor," in Scientific Monthly, December 1957, p. 303.

Immense upheavals as well as sinkings of land must have taken place in order to provide a place to hold the oceans. If that had not occurred, the entire earth today would be under water and there would be no continents. Very frankly, this was an act of Divine providence. The ocean basins had to sink, and the continents rise—or there would be no dry land after the Flood. By the end of the Flood year, recorded in Genesis 7 and 8, "the valleys [basins] sank down" and the great masses of water which "were standing above the mountains" "fled" and "hurried away. . to the place which Thou didst establish for them. Thou hast set a bound [the shorelines] that they may not pass over; that they return not to cover the earth." Psalm 104:6-9.

SUBMARINE CANYONS—Another relic of the Flood is the great canyons cut into the ocean floor. These are to be found just below where each of our major rivers dumps into the ocean. Known as "submarine canyons," those canyons could only have been made if the floor of the ocean basins sank, the ocean level was then lower, and was gradually filled by rain from the skies and by water pouring down into it from these waterways. One example is the canyon in the ocean just opposite the Hudson River in New York. The evolutionary position, that the oceans did not fill, leaves them no solution to the origin of submarine canyons.

"The difficulties encountered in explaining the lowering of sea level necessary for the canyons to have been cut by streams [with a volume of water such as we have today] seem insurmountable . . If Tolstoy’s conclusion that Hudson Canyon extends down to a depth of 15,000 feet [4,572 m] [!] is correct, the magnitude of lowering of sea level to permit subaerial canyon cutting seems beyond any possibility of realization."

—*William D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1954), p. 472.

You will find these diagonal canyons, cut into the continental shelves, out beyond the mouths of all the great rivers of the continents: the Colorado, Columbia, Amazon, etc. Such colossal river currents could not run downward, if the oceans were earlier at their present height. Scientistists cannot account for those canyons. Some suggest "turbidity currents," as the answer while others recognize that something far greater was involved. .

"Can we, as seekers after truth, shut our eyes any longer to the obvious fact that large areas of sea floor have sunk vertical distances measured in miles."—

*Kenneth K. Landes, "Illogical Geology," in Geotimes, March 1959, p. 19.

Brown discusses their immense size and significance. "On the ocean floor are several hundred canyons. Some of these submarine canyons rival the Grand Canyon in both length and depth. One canyon is three times deeper than the Grand Canyon. Another is 10 times longer, so long that it would stretch across the United States. Many of these V-shaped canyons are extensions of major rivers. Examples include the Amazon Canyon, the Hudson Canyon, the Ganges Canyon, the  Congo Canyon, and the Indus Canyon. "How did they get there? What forces could gouge out canyons that are sometimes 15,000 feet below sea level? Was the ocean floor raised or the ocean surface lowered by this amount so ancient rivers could cut these canyons? If so, how? Canyons on the continents were supposedly formed by the cutting of fast flowing rivers and surface drainage. However, the [current] flows measured in submarine canyons are much too slow—generally less than one mile per hour. Frequently the flow is in the wrong direction. Submarine landslides or currents of dense, muddy water sometimes occur. However, they would not form the long, branching (or dendritic) patterns that are common to river systems and submarine canyons. Besides, experiments with mud-laden water in actual submarine canyons have not demonstrated any canyon-cutting ability."—Walter T. Brown, In the Beginning (1989), p. 63.

HIGHER LAKES—It is quite clear that at some earlier time there was much more water in the enclosed lake basins of the continents. Anyone who has ever driven into the Salt Lake City area cannot help but notice the high-water marks on the surrounding mountains. Four distinct marks are to be seen, the highest of which is about 1,000 feet above the present level of Great Salt Lake. At some earlier time an area of 20,000 square miles was covered by this ancient lake (scientists call it "Lake Bonneville"). Another basin of an ancient lake ("Lake Lahontan") is to be found in Nevada; it once filled 8,400 square miles. *Flint, in Glacial and Pleistocene Geology, lists 119 ancient lakes which are now dry or nearly so. Such raised beaches and terraces formed by ancient lakes are to be found all over the world.

"There are many examples outside the United States of similar lake expansions during pluvial glacial times. Lake Texcoco in Mexico was at least 175 feet higher than it is now; Lake Titicaca in South America was 300 feet higher; the Dead Sea was 1400 feet higher, and as many as 15 abandoned strand lines have been observed around it; the Caspian Sea was at least 250 feet higher and was apparently confluent with the Aral Sea to the east and the Black Sea to the West."— *W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1954), p. 418.

LARGER RIVERS—There was also a far greater volume of water flowing at some earlier time in the rivers. It is common today to see small streams flowing between the steep, high sides of large canyonsThere was also a far greater volume of water flowing at some earlier time in the rivers. It is common today to see small streams flowing between the steep, high sides of large canyons. Obviously, at some earlier time gigantic waterways must have flowed there for a time. In addition, extensive deposits of sediments (alluvium) left by these ancient rivers are to be found at higher levels. We consistently find valleys with small streams in their center, with evidences that once a very large river coursed down the center of the valley.

"If a stream, or more correctly the size of the stream meanders [the serpentining of the stream back and forth within its base floodplain], is too small for the size of the valley, the stream is said to underfit; if too large, it is referred to as overfit. It is difficult to cite examples of overfit rivers, or streams with floodplain too small for the size of the stream. Hence there may well be a question whether overfit streams exist . . The underfit condition can persist indefinitely; hence many examples of such streams exist."—*W.D. Thornbury, Principles of Geomorphology (1953), p. 156.

"Valleys commonly appear to be far too large to have been formed by the streams that utilize them."—*O.D. von Engeln and *K.E. Caster, Geology, pp. 256-257.

Then there are the massive flood plains, remnants of earlier gigantic river overflows. There is an enormous flat area on both sides of the Mississippi River. This is its flood plain, and it extends for many miles. In ancient times, this was part of a gigantic river, now referred to as the "Teays River.". There is an enormous flat area on both sides of the Mississippi River. 

IMMENSE EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION —Tremendous quantities of water flowed outward from the land, and it took a lot of soil and sediment with it. In many parts of the world, only sand remains. Tremendous quantities of water flowed outward from the land, and it took a lot of soil and sediment with it. In many parts of the world, only sand remains. This would be but another result of the Flood. We see evidences of it today as we look at our mountains, plains, deserts, and waterways. Consider the Grand Canyon of Arizona. One important result of all this was the burial of so much vegetation and animal life. There are places in our world where fossil-bearing sedimentary rock is several miles deep. From bottom to top, the sedimentary rock provides fossil evidence of a gigantic yet rapid catastrophe. Prior to the Flood this sedimentary strata did not exist.

WAVE EROSION—Water is powerful, not only when it is running, but when it strikes a surface head on. Ocean waves can be very destructive, as we are told by Rachel Carson in The Sea Around Us. *King also mentions this:

"Waves are seldom more than twenty-five feet high; but violent storms may raise them to sixty feet, and there are unverified reports of even greater heights . . The immense striking power of a wave cannot be realized until it hits an object that cannot float with it. Waves striking the shores of Tierra del Fuego can be heard for twenty miles [32 km]. Spray from a storm wave has been hurled to the top of a lighthouse nearly 200 feet [609 cm] above sea level. The force of waves striking the shore can be measured, and has been found to reach three tons per square foot." -  Thomson King, Water (1953), p. 49.

Terrible storms raged during the Flood. Immense quantities of water were flowing, grinding, wearing away surfaces. Massive wave action took its toll also. All this resulted in an astounding rate of erosion, which produced sediments which resulted in the thousands of feet of sedimentary rock strata which we see today.

ROCK STRATA—Several evidences in the sedimentary rock strata indicate that the sedimentary rock strata were all laid down rapidly at one time, thus indicating a single worldwide Flood occurredSeveral evidences in the sedimentary rock strata indicate that the sedimentary rock strata were all laid down rapidly at one time, thus indicating a single worldwide Flood occurred.

(1) Sedimentary rocks, sometimes deep ones even down to the Cambrian, are in an unconsolidated state. That is, they have not been pressed together into solid rocks. Yet if these stones had been lying under millions of tons of overrock for millions of years, they would long ago have consolidated.

(2) The fossils and the rock strata indicate rapid deposition, due to a sudden worldwide Flood, rather than being slowly laid over a period of long ages. We discussed this in detail earlier in this chapter in the section, Fossils and Rock Strata. There are thousands of cubic miles of such materials, yet hardly any of it is being made today. The entire process took place rather quickly at some past time. 

(3) The strata are confused and often crushed. If slow, uniform layering occurred as a result of erosional forces, the layers would also be uniform and fairly flat. As it is, what we see is the result of a terrific upheaval. 

(4) Geologists well-know that rivers only cut through hard materials when they rush fairly straight down steeply slanted surfaces. In contrast, rivers that meander serpentinely are slow-moving waters going through more level land and can then only cut through softer materials. But what we find is evidence that, at some past time, meandering cut through, what is today, thick rock—at such locations as the Colorado River, in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, and the San Juan River in Colorado.

Such river canyons were not cut by rivers "over millions of years," but instead were quickly cut through while they were still soft and their strata had only recently been laid.

VARVE DATING —"Varved clays" are banded sediments, with each band quite thin with light and dark color gradations between them. "Varve chronology" is another evolutionary means of dating the sediments, for evolutionists theoretically interpret each varve as an annual (one year) deposit. But we find pebbles, plants, insects, and dead animals in the varves. How does one explain a dead fish lying on the bed of a lake for about two hundred years without rotting while the slowly accumulating sediments gradually cover it and then fossilize it? Where does this occur in modern lakes? There is a lot more that could be said on this topic, but the above should be sufficient to disprove the theory of "varve dating."

FACTS ABOUT THE DINOSAURS —Very high up in the theoretical column of rock strata we find the Mesozoic, which includes the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. In these levels we find the dinosaurs. Apparently reptilian in nature, many of these were gigantic creatures. The dinosaurs died as a result of the Flood 4500 yrs ago.. they were just big lizards that lived with adam and eve and were created at the same time everything else was..  since the earth is only 6,000 yrs old,  not millions of yrs.

"One of the important contemporary scientific debates is about the causes of the mass extinctions at the close of the Cretaceous epoch, about 65 million years ago . . Scientists refer to this crucial, enigmatic transition in the history of life as the K/T boundary. The Cretaceous epoch is abbreviated as K to distinguish it from the earlier Carboniferous (coal-forming) epoch, abbreviated as C. Sedimentary rock layers above the Cretaceous, which include the fossil record of the Age of Mammals, are traditionally called Tertiary or T."—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 246.

a lie & rumor was started that the dinosaurs were killed by volcanoes, climatic changes, or the eating of their eggs by other animals. Yet far more delicate wildlife have survived volcanoes, climatic changes, and egg predators. Evolution has no answer to the extinction of the dinosaurs."These are some of the theories that have been advanced to explain the sudden extinction of dinosaurs throughout the world. Each theory will explain the death of some dinosaurs in some places, but attempts to apply any of them, or combinations of them, to worldwide extinction have failed. This dinosaur story is like a mystery thriller with the last pages torn out. That is true and the paleontologist knows it. He also knows the riddle will probably never be solved."—*J.M. Good, *T.E. White, and *G.F. Stucker, "The Dinosaur Quarry," U.S. Government Printing Office (1958), p. 26.