THE EFFECTS OF THE FLOOD: 2

Here is additional remarkable evidence of the worldwide Flood, described in the first book of the Bible (Genesis 6-9). Evolutionary theory is a myth. God created everything; the evidence clearly points to it. Nothing else can explain the mountain of evidence. This is science vs. evolution—a Creation-Evolution Encyclopedia, brought to you by Creation Science Facts.

CONTENTS: THE EFFECTS OF THE FLOOD: 2

Conditions Before and During the Flood: Scientific facts shed light on what happened
A Flood Model: According to the best available data, here is a brief overview of what happened

Page numbers without book references refer to the book, THE EFFECTS OF THE FLOOD, from which these facts are summarized. An asterisk ( * ) by a name indicates that person is not known to be a creationist. Of over 4,000 quotations in the set of books this Encyclopedia is based on
, only 164 statements are by creationists.

CONDITIONS BEFORE AND DURING THE FLOOD

Warmer climate. Fossil-bearing rocks, from all strata levels, reveal that a worldwide warm climate once existed everywhere on the planet, even in what is now Arctic and Antarctic areas.

For example, because of widespread coal and petrified wood deposits, we know the Antarctic once had an abundance of vegetation and large trees. It also had palm trees and other tropical plant life.—pp. 26, 28.

Water vapor. There is no doubt that a remarkable change in climate occurred, resulting in our present cold climates. It was probably caused by the loss of water vapor in the earth's atmosphere. Scientists estimate that a worldwide water-vapor blanket must have covered our planet in ancient times. This deflected the sun's rays, so the entire globe was evenly warmed. But, at the time of the Flood, water poured out of the skies and burst forth from the earth. As a result, the vapor cover was in a great measure lost and the underground watering system closed down.—p. 28.

Lower sea levels. Before the Flood there were probably only broad rivers, with possibly a few seas. The enormous concave ocean basins we now have were not needed. But, as we will learn later in this article, because of the immense amount of water on the earth's surface, it was necessary for the sea basins to sink and the continents to rise—otherwise there would be no dry ground anywhere!—pp. 28-29.

Seamounts. During World War II, seamounts were discovered by a ship captain, using the newly invented echo sounder. Seamounts are extinct volcanoes hundreds of feet beneath the sea—with their tops flattened.

Volcanic activity began early in the Flood. But later, as the sea arose, the tops of the volcanoes were flattened out by storm and wave action. Then the Flood went higher, and left the tops of some volcanoes (those which had become extinct) far below.

Seamounts point both to the fact that there once were lowered sea levels, but also to the extensive volcanic activity early in the Flood.—p. 29.

Continental shelves. Another evidence of the lowered sea levels, which gradually rose, are the continental shelves. These shelves surround all the continents.—pp. 29, 31.

Seamount corals. Corals can only live in shallow water, just below the ocean's surface. Yet corals are to be found deep in the ocean. At some earlier time, corals were growing on those deeply submerged seamounts. Yet corals cannot live at a depth below 200 feet [609 dm]. This also points to lower sea levels at an earlier time.—p. 31.

Submarine canyons. As the rivers emptied into the oceans, canyons flowed down the sides of continents. Later, the oceans filled and these canyons, of which there are several hundred, are now as much as 1,500 feet below sea level. For example, you will find a canyon dropping down deeply off the outlet of the Columbia River. If the seas had not earlier been at a lower level, that canyon would not be there.—pp. 31-32.

Origin of the oceans. There once were no oceans (but perhaps a few smaller seas). Fossil landforms have been found at the bottom of the oceans.

Immense upheavals, as well as sinkings of land, must have taken place in order to provide a place to hold the oceans.—p. 31.

Higher lakes. At some earlier time, the lakes were higher than they now are. If you have ever driven through the Salt Lake City area, you can see the high-water marks on the surrounding mountains. Such raised beaches and terraces are to be found all over the world.—p. 32.

Larger rivers. At some earlier time, there was a far greater volume of water flowing in the rivers. Much of the time, you find small streams flowing in the middle of canyons. Gigantic waterways once flowed there.—p. 32.

Immense erosion and sedimentation. Tremendous quantities of water flowed, and carried massive amounts of soil and sediments with it. There are places in the world where fossil-bearing sedimentary rock is several miles deep. It points to a gigantic catastrophe at an earlier time.—p. 32.

Wave erosion. Terrible storms raged during the Flood and immense quantities of water tore at, and wore away, surfaces. Massive wave action also took its toll. All this resulted in an astonishing amount of rapid erosion.—pp. 32-33.

Rock strata. The fossils and strata indicate rapid deposition due to a worldwide Flood rather than being slowly laid down by the work of ages.

The strata are confused and often crushed and twisted. This would not have occurred if they had been slowly laid down.—p. 33.

Meandering streams. Rivers only cut through rock when they are rushing extremely fast. Such downhill rivers run fairly straight. In contrast, slow, meandering (serpentine-shaped) rivers flow through flatland. Meandering rivers should not be able to cut their way through rock.

An example of this is the Colorado River, as it went through Grand Canyon. Here we find a serpentine river, yet it is supposed to have cut through half a mile of rock!

Obviously, that never happened. The truth is that the Grand Canyon strata had only recently been laid down by the Flood; and then, as a result of upheavals, the immense lake in Utah (which scientists call "Lake Bonneville") emptied out during the uplift, through the Grand Canyon—and cut through all those relatively soft layers. If they had been hardened, they could never have been sliced through as they were.—p. 33.

Mountain building. Water covers 72 percent of our planet's surface. If the earth had an absolutely level crust, the sea would cover it over 8,800 feet [26,822 dm].

Yet according to Genesis 7:20, the world did not originally have high mountains, for that passage indicates that only low mountains were covered.

Shortly after the Flood, mountain building began on an even larger scale (Psalm 104:6-9). If it had not occurred, oceans would forever have covered the entire world. Not only did the ocean basins greatly deepen, but the continents and mountains also rose. The highest mountain (Everest) is 5.5 miles [8,850 m] above sea level, and the deepest part of the ocean (the Mariana Trench near Guam) is 6.78 miles [10,914 m] below it. The immense variation occurred at the conclusion of the Flood; it did not exist beforehand.

The scientific name for this mountain building is "orogeny." Geologists say this mountain building primarily occurred during the Pleistocene or late Pliocene eras. This would be correct, for both of these occurred shortly after the Flood. By "mountain building," we mean both the raising of our present mountains and ranges and the uplifting of the continental masses.

Mountains rose and basins sank. As water flowed into them, they sank even more. Rock strata buckled, folded, and went up or sideways. Out of all this came our present nonvolcanic great mountain ranges. Scientists call these "folded mountains."

But the immense pressures also caused cracks (fissures) in the earth, and volcanoes began exploding. Volcanic mountains arose.—pp. 35-36.

Subterranean streams. According to Genesis 7:11, not only did water pour out of the sky, but it also burst out of the ground.

This upheaval of water, from the ground, caused violent shifts on and beneath the surface of the earth. The ground crunched, folded, and twisted, as water emptied out from below—and immense quantities of water pressed down upon it from above. Add to this the rising of continents, ranges, and sinking of sea floors.—p. 36.

Volcanism. The release of so much underground water, combined with the pressure of so much surface water, caused immense high and low pressures within the earth. Gigantic cracks opened; and water, pouring down these cracks, hit the molten rock beneath. Steam was produced, which widened the cracks. Exploding jets of lava poured out at the earth's surface, producing thousands of volcanoes.

There are thousands of extinct volcanoes in the Pleistocene and even post-Pleistocene levels around the world. That means they were active near the end of the Flood and for a time thereafter.

Never are old lava beds found below the Cambrian levels. Therefore, there were no volcanoes before the Flood began.

Volcanic action took place throughout the Flood, and culminated before and after it ended.—pp. 36-37.

Magnetic reversals. So intense were these volcanic explosions, that a number of reversals in earth's magnetic core occurred. (See Laws of Nature vs. Evolution for much more information on this.)—p. 37.

Volcanic pollutants. Airborne pollutants do not remain in the atmosphere very long. But when shot from a volcano, they enter the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) and can remain there for several years.—p. 37.

Rapid cooling. All these thousands of exploding volcanoes produced so much dust in the upper atmosphere, that rapid cooling occurred throughout the world.

When Krakatoa blew its top in 1883, over a square mile [.62 sq km] of dirt was blown into the skies. It took three years for the dust to settle to earth again. For about two years, the Krakatoa dust caused a definite lowering of worldwide temperatures.

But Krakatoa was only one volcano. What must it have been like, just after the Flood, when thousands were exploding?—p. 37.

Freezing of the poles. It is estimated that 10,000 volcanoes were exploding. As a result, the poles froze and many animals were frozen. From time to time, we find them encased in ice.

The lack of sunlight, from the volcanic dust overhead, brought on intense cold in northern latitudes and violent storms farther south.—pp. 37, 39.

Glaciation. Vast quantities of water were gradually locked into the polar regions, and ice sheets were sent sliding southward from the Arctic. Popularly known as the "ice age," the scientific name for it is the "period of glaciation." There was an ice age!

There is abundant evidence that northern Asia, all of Canada, and about a fourth of the United States was once covered by glacial ice. At their greatest extent, the ice sheets covered about 30 percent of the earth's present land surface. (Today they cover about 10 percent).

At the height of the ice age, so much water was locked up, that it was 400 feet below the present sea level. (In contrast, if all our present ice were melted, sea level would rise to the 20th floor of the Empire State Building.—pp. 39-40.

Increased tropical rainfall. There was much more rainfall in the lower latitudes for a time after the Flood. This produced abundant vegetation, even in the deserts. Rivers and lakes throughout the world were higher for a time.—p. 40.

Sudden warming. The explosion of Krakatoa, in 1883, produced cold for two years,—and then rather suddenly, everything warmed up. When the thousands of volcanoes stopped, the world warmed up again rather quickly. There is evidence, from several sources, supporting this sudden warming trend which occurred back then.—pp. 40-41.

Whereas, before the Flood, there were palm trees and tropical plants and animals in the polar regions (geologists have found their fossils), so also evidences of abundant vegetation have been found in the Saharas, where it grew for a time after the Flood.

A FLOOD MODEL

Here is a very brief overview of what conditions were like before, during, and after the Flood:

Before the Flood. The climate was warm everywhere. There were broad rivers and small seas, and no high mountains. Dinosaurs were alive, but most of them were vegetarians. The carnivore dinosaurs may have preyed only upon the vegetarian ones.—p. 41.

During the Flood. It began suddenly, as rain fell in torrents and underground reservoirs burst forth. Emptied underground water cavities collapsed. The first cracks opened, and water poured down into hot magma (molten rock) below.

Slight lowering of certain basins and rising of other areas began. Some volcanic action was occurring.

Terrific storms occurred and water level continued to rise. Marine creatures were buried. As the waters rose, more creatures were buried. Gigantic mats of vegetation were washed into place.

Increasing violence of storms caused animal life to be thrown together in pockets and buried. Eventually, the last of the dinosaurs were buried.

Through it all, the birds, apes, and humans were able to fight their way to the highest points, and few were buried by washed-in sediments.

As the lowest basins filled, the weight of water pushed them down farther. Corresponding rising occurred in other areas, which became continental masses. More cracks developed, and still more volcanoes erupted.

Soon there was a worldwide sea, and immense storms and worldwide tidal action produced immense waves and lateral movement.

As the Flood receded, geostasy (the balancing of the continents and the oceans) intensified. Once or twice there was a pause in the rising waters, which resulted in our continental shelves.

Massive vertical and lateral pressures caused twisted strata. Folded mountains were twisted into place. Volcanoes were increasing in number and volcanic ranges arose.—pp. 41-42.

After the Flood. Glacial sheets advanced outward from the poles. For centuries, few civilizations would exist in the latitudes nearer the pole (upper Europe, Asia, North America, South Africa, and southern South America).

Abundant rainfall, warm climate, and ideal agricultural conditions existed throughout North Africa, the Near East, and India.

In later centuries, the regions closer to the poles warmed up, and the tropics became excessively hot and dry.—p. 42.

Something happened in the past which affected the entire world. It was the worldwide Flood, described in Genesis 6 to 9. Whether you go to the desert or the seashore, the mountains or the rivers, you will see evidences of the Flood.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To the next topic in this series:

CREATION AND THE FLOOD IN CHINESE: Ancient Chinese picture writing portrays the past.