geology by cmi

8/15/2019 Geology by CMI

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• What about continental drift? 4

WAS GEOLOGICAL UNIFORMITARIANISM THE RESULT OF DISPASSIONATE SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY

• Mineral evolution 6

CAN GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES THAT WE SEE TODAY BE EXPLAINED BY A GLOBAL FLOOD

• Can Flood Geology Explain Thick Chalk ed!? """""""""""""""""""""""""""#

• $evil! To%er can be explained by flood%ater runoff """""""""""""""""""""""""&'(

• The )ello%!tone petrified fore!t! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&'*

• +luru and ,ata T-uta. Te!ti/ony to the Flood """"""""""""""""""""""""""""'4

• Many arche! and natural bridge! likely fro/ the Flood """"""""""""""""""""""""&'6

• Three 0i!ter!. evidence for Global Flood """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""'1

• 2eperite. /ore evidence of large3!cale %atery cata!trophe """"""""""""""""""""""&*(

• 2aleo!ol!. digging deeper burie! challenge5 to Flood geology """""""""""""""""""""**

• Fluidiation pipe!. evidence of large3!cale %atery cata!trophe """""""""""""""""""""*#

• 0eeing the Global Flood in geological /ap! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""& *#

• 7 cla!!ic tillite recla!!ified a! a !ub/arine debri! flo% """"""""""""""""""""""""&*8

CAN CANYONS BE FORMED QUICKLY

• Canyon creation """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""*8

• 9o% old i! Grand Canyon? """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&:(

• Grand Canyon !trata !ho% geologic ti/e i! i/aginary """"""""""""""""""""""""&&:4

• 7 canyon in !ix day!; """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""":4

• 0tartling evidence for global flood """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&&:<

HOW WERE LIMESTONE CAVES FORMED

• The age of the =enolan Cave!> 7u!tralia """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""&& :1

• Cave! for all !ea!on! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""4'

• i/e!tone cave! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""4<

• @apid cave for/ation by !ulfuric acid di!!olution """""""""""""""""""""""""""&46

HOW DOES THE FLOOD EXPLAIN STALAGMITES, STALACTITES AND OTHER SPELEOTHEMS• @apid !talactite! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&"&4#• An!tant5 !talag/ite!; """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&"&4#• The !hrinking 5age5 of !talactite! and !talag/ite!& """"""""""""""""""""""""""" 41

IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT ROCKS AND GEMS FORMED IN THE YOUNG AGE TIMEFRAME

• Granite grain !ie. not a proble/ for rapid cooling of pluton! """""""""""""""""""&""&"41

• The rapid for/ation of granitic rock!. /ore evidence """""""""""""""""""""""&""&&&& rock! and " 0hake!peare """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""#<• The !tory that %on5t be told """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""• Biagara Fall! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


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HOW TO PETRIFIED MAN-MADE OBJECTS SUPPORT THE YOUNG AGE TIMESCALE

• Fa!cinating fo!!il fence3%ire """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&

WHAT IS CATASTROPHIC PLATE TECTONICS

• 2robing the earth5! deep place! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1(

• The Wil!on cycle. a !eriou! proble/ for Cata!trophic 2late Tectonic! """""""""""""""""""1*

• Foru/ on cata!trophic plate tectonic! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""& 1:

DAILY ARTICLES

• Flat gap!5 in !edi/entary rock layer! challenge long geologic age! """""""""""""""""""&&14• Fa!t3for/ing Fly gey!er5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&&18• olcanoe! !haped our planet """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&8(• Dcean! of %ater deep in!ide the earth """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&8*• 2arcutin """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""8:• Three early argu/ent! for deep ti/epart A. ti/e needed to erode valley! """"""""""""&&"""& 84• Three early argu/ent! for deep ti/epart AA. volcani!/ """"""""""""""""""""""""'((• Three early argu/ent! for deep ti/epart :. the geogno!tic pile5 """""""""""""""""""&& '(6• A! plate tectonic! occurring today? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&&'':• Cave! and 7ge """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""&&&''#• Geological excur!ion at Giant5! Cau!e%ay in Borthern Areland """""""""""""""""""""& ''1• Ther/al i!o!ta!ya ne% look at it! potential to advance diluvial geology """"""""""""""""&&'*'• Galpago! %ith $avid 7ttenborough. Drigin """""""""""""""""""""""""""""&'*:•

0oil /icrobiologi!t. Evolution no help in re!earch """""""""""""""""""""""""""'*4• Andone!ian /ud volcano keep! erupting """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""'*#• The ba!e/ent rock! of the ri!bane area> 7u!tralia. Where do they fit in the creation /odel? """""""&& '*#• Mangane!e nodule! and the age of the ocean floor """""""""""""""""""""""""&&&'4(• 0peedy !tone """"""""""""""&&"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" '4:• The /ud i! /i!!ing """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""'4:• The Carboniferou! floating fore!tan extinct pre3Flood eco!y!te/ """""""""""""""""""&'4:• @eading bet%een the Giant5! Cau!e%ay ba!alt! """""""""""""""""""""""""""&'


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What a!"t #!$t%$&$ta' ()%*t+

• 9ave the continent! really /oved apart?• 9o% could thi! relate to the creation account of hi!tory?• Could it have had !o/ething to do %ith the Flood?

EFD@E the '86(!> /o!t geologi!t! %ere ada/ant that the continent! %ere !tationary& 7 handful pro/oted the notion that

the continent! had /oved Jcontinental driftK> but they %ere accu!ed by the /a-ority of indulging in p!eudo3!cientific fanta!y&Today> thatopinion ha! rever!edplate tectonic!> incorporating continental drift> i! the ruling theory& JAntere!tingly> it %a! acreationi!t> 7ntonio 0nider> %ho in '1each /oving relative to ad-acent plate!& $efor/ation occur! at the edge! of the plate! by three type! of horiontal /otion.

exten!ion Jor rifting> /oving apartK> tran!for/ faulting Jhoriontal !lipping along a fault lineK> and co/pre!!ion> /o!tly by!ubduction Jone plate plunging beneath anotherK&Exten!ion occur! a! the !ea floor pull! apart at rift!> or !plit!& Tran!for/faulting occur! %here one plate !lip! horiontally pa!t another Je&g& the 0an 7ndrea! Fault of CaliforniaK& Co/pre!!ionaldefor/ation occur! %hen one plate !ubduct! beneath anotherL e&g& the 2acific 2late beneath =apan and the Coco! 2latebeneath Central 7/erica& Dr it occur! %hen t%o continental plate! collide to produce a /ountain range> e&g& the Andian 7u!tralian 2late colliding %ith the Eura!ian 2late to for/ the 9i/alayan Mountain!& olcanoe! often occur in region! of !ubduction&S&a-*'!!) )&a(%$.

Dne argu/ent advanced for plate tectonic! i! !ea3floor !preading& An the oceanba!in!> along /id 3ocean ridge! Je&g& the Mid37tlantic @idge and Ea!t 2acific@i!eK> ob!ervation! are interpreted to indicate that plate! are diverging> %ith/olten /aterial fro/ the /antle4 ri!ing up in the gap bet%een the plate! andcooling to for/ ne% cru!t under the ocean& The younge!t cru!t i! at the ridgeaxi!> %ith progre!!ively older rock! a%ay fro/ the axi!& World%ide> it i!e!ti/ated that currently about *( cubickilo/etre! of /olten /ag/a ri!e! each

year to create ne% oceanic cru!t& !o/e of the rock!5/ineral! acIuire /agnet i!/ fro/ Earth5! /agnetic field> recording the field5!direction at the ti/e& Evidence indicate! that Earth5! /agnetic field ha!rever!ed /any ti/e! in the pa!t& 0o> during the cooling> !o/e of the oceaniccru!t %a! /agnetied in a rever!e direction& Af !ea3floor !preading i!continuou!> the ocean floor !hould po!!e!! a !/ooth /agnetic tape3recording5of rever!al!&Andeed> the ebra !tripe pattern of linear /agnetic ano/alie!5parallel to the /id3ocean ridge cre!t ha! been recorded in /any area!& 6

P)!'&/ *!) 0'!1-a$(-.)a("a'2 'at& tt!$%#While the ebra3!tripe pattern ha! been confir/ed> drilling through the ba!altad-acent to the ridge! ha! !ho%n that the neat pattern recorded by dragging a/agneto/eter above the ridge i! not pre!ent %hen the rock i! actually!a/pled& The /agnetic polarity change! in patche! do%n the hole!> %ith no

con!i!tent pattern %ith depth Thi! %ould be expected %ith rapid for/ation of the ba!alt> co/bined %ith rapid field

rever!al!> not the !lo%3and3gradual for/ation %ith !lo% rever!al! a!!u/ed by unifor/itarian!&2hy!ici!t $r @u!!ell9u/phrey! predicted that evidence for rapid field rever!al! %ould be found in lava flo%! thin enough to cool in a fe%%eek!&19e !ugge!ted that !uch rapid rever!al! could have happened during the Flood& 0uch evidence for rapid rever!al!%a! later found by the re!pected re!earcher!> Coe and 2rHvot&8>'( Their later %ork'' confir/ed the!e finding! and !ho%edthat the /agnetic rever!al! %ere a!toni!hingly rapid5&A 3!"$. a.& 4%&1


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Evidence indicate! that thecontinent! have /oved apart inthe pa!t> but can today5!!uppo!ed drift rate! of *'< c/per year be extrapolatedThemagnetic pattern in the volcanic rock formed on the sea floor at the mid-ocean ridges suggestsvery rapid processes, not millionsof years. The patchwork patternsof polarity are evidence for rapid

formation of the rock.far back intothe pa!t? A! the pre!ent really thekey to the pa!t> a! unifor/itarian!clai/? 0uch extrapolation %ould/ean that an ocean ba!in or

/ountain range %ould take about '(( /illion year! to for/&Thecreation /odel doe! not !peak directly about continental drift andplate tectonic!> but if the continent! %ere once together> and areno% apart> ho% doe! that fit into a creation vie% of geology %ith ati/e line of only thou!and! of year!?'*$r =ohn au/gardner>%orking at the o! 7la/o! Bational aboratory J+07K> u!ed!uperco/puter! to /odel proce!!e! in Earth5! /antle to !ho% thattectonic plate /ove/ent could have occurred very rapidly> and!pontaneou!ly5& ':>'4>''6>'# Thi! concept i! kno%n a! catastrophic

plate tectonics (CTP)& au/gardner> a creationi!t !cienti!t> %a!ackno%ledged a! having developed the %orld5! be!t :3$ !uper3co/puter /odel of plate tectonic!&'1

Catat)!h%# 'at& tt!$%#The /odel propo!ed by au/gardner begin! %ith a pre3Flood

!uper3continent and den!e ocean floor rock!& The proce!! !tart! %ith the cold and den!e ocean floor beginning to !ink intothe !ofter> le!! den!e /antle beneath& The friction fro/ thi! /ove/ent generate! heat> e!pecially around the edge!> %hich!often! the ad-acent /antle /aterial> /aking it le!! re!i!tant to the !inking of the ocean floor& '8 The edge! !ink fa!ter>dragging the re!t of the ocean floor along> in conveyor3belt fa!hion& Fa!ter /ove/ent create! /ore friction and heat in the!urrounding /antle> reducing it! re!i!tance further and !o the ocean floor /ove! even fa!ter> and !o on& 7t it! peak> thi!ther/al runa%ay in!tability %ould have allo%ed for !ubduction at rate! of /etre!3per3!econd& Thi! key concept i! calledruna%ay !ubduction&The !inking ocean floor %ould di!place /antle /aterial> !tarting large3!cale /ove/ent throughout theentire /antle& 9o%ever> a! the ocean3floor !ank and rapidly !ubducted ad-acent to the pre3Flood !uper3continent5! /argin!>el!e%here Earth5! cru!t %ould be under !uch ten!ional !tre!! that it %ould be torn apart JriftedK> breaking up both the pre3Flood !uper3continent and the ocean floor&Thu!> cru!tal !preading one! %ould rapidly extend along crack! in the ocean

floor for !o/e '(>((( k/ %here the !plitting %a! occurring&9ot /antle /aterial di!placed by the !ubducting !lab! %ould %ellup> ri!ing to the !urface along the!e !preading one!& Dn the ocean floor> thi! hot /antle /aterial %ould vapourie copiou!a/ount! of ocean %ater> producing a linear gey!er of !uperheated !tea/ along the %hole length of the !preading centre!Jperhap! the fountains of the great deep!" Gen& #.''L 1.*K& Thi! !tea/ %ould di!per!e> conden!ing in the at/o!phere to falla! inten!e global rain Jand the flood-gates of heaven were opened!"au/gardner5! cata!trophic plate tectonic! globalFlood /odel for Earth hi!tory*( can explain /ore geological data than the conventional plate tectonic! /odel %ith it! /any/illion! of year!& For exa/ple> rapid !ubduction of the pre3Flood ocean floor into the /antle re!ult! in ne% ocean floor thati! dra/atically hotter> e!pecially in it! upper '(( k/> not -u!t at !preading ridge!> but every%here&

#arth$s current structure (not to scale). eing hotter> the ne% ocean floor i! of lo%er den!ity and therefore ri!e! '>((( to *>((( /etre! higher than before and i/plie! a dra/atic ri!e in global !ealevel&Thi! higher !ea level flood! the continental !urface! and /ake! po!!ible the depo!ition of large area! of !edi/entarydepo!it! on top of the nor/ally high3!tanding continent!& The Grand Canyon provide! a !pectacular %indo% into thea/aing layer3cake character of the!e !edi/ent depo!it! that in /any ca!e! continue uninterrupted for /ore than '>(((

k/&*'

+nifor/itarian J!lo% and gradual5K plate tectonic! !i/ply cannot account for !uch thick continental !edi/ent!eIuence! of !uch va!t horiontal extent&Moreover> the rapid !ubduction of the cooler pre3Flood ocean floor into the /antle%ould have re!ulted in increa!ed circulation of vi!cou! fluid Jnote. pla!tic> not /oltenK rock %ithin the /antle& Thi! /antle3flo% Ji&e& !tirring5 %ithin the /antleK %ould have !uddenly altered the te/perature! at the core3/antle boundary> a! the/antle near the core %ould no% be !ignificantly cooler than the ad-acent core> and thu! convection and heat lo!! fro/ thecore %ould be greatly accelerated& The /odel !ugge!t! that under the!e condition! of accelerated convection in the core>rapid geo/agnetic rever!al! %ould have occurred& The!e in turn %ould be expre!!ed on the earth5! !urface and recorded inthe !o3called /agnetic !tripe!&** 9o%ever> the!e %ould be erratic and locally patchy> laterally and at depth> -u!t a! the dataindicate>*: even according to the unifor/itarian !cienti!t! cited earlier&Thi! /odel provide! a /echani!/ that explain! ho%the plate! could /ove relatively Iuickly Jin a /atter of /onth!K over the /antle and !ubduct& 7nd it predict! that little or no

/ove/ent %ould be /ea!urable bet%eenplate! today> becau!e the /ove/ent %ouldhave co/e al/o!t to a !tand!till %hen theentire pre3Flood ocean floor %a! !ubducted&Fro/ thi! %e %ould al!o expect the trenche!

ad-acent to !ubduction one! today to befilled %ith undi!turbed late3Flood and po!t3Flood !edi/ent!> -u!t a! %eob!erve&7!pect! of au/gardner5! /antle/odelling have been independentlyduplicated and thu! verified by other!&*4>**6

Further/ore> au/gardner5! /odellingpredict! that becau!e thi! ther/al runa%ay


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!ubduction of cold ocean floor cru!tal !lab! occurred relatively recently> during theFlood Jabout 4> thentho!e !lab! %ould not have had !ufficient ti/e !ince to be fully a!!i/ilated into the !urrounding /antle&0o evidence of the!lab! above the /antle3core boundary Jto %hich they !ankK !hould !till be found today& Andeed> evidence for !uchuna!!i/ilated relatively cold !lab! ha! been found in !ei!/ic !tudie!&*#>*1>*8

Th& /!(&' a'! )!4%(& a /ha$%/ *!) )&t)&at !* th& *'!!(1at&)52late colli!ion! %ould have pu!hed up /ountain!> %hile cooling of the ne% ocean floor %ould have increa!ed it! den!ity>cau!ing it to !ink and thu! deepen the ne% ocean ba!in! to receive the retreating flood%ater!&

Af a centi/etre or t%o per year of inferred /ove/ent today i! extrap olated back into the pa!t a! unifor/itarian! do> thentheir conventional plate tectonic! /odel ha! li/ited explanatory po%er& For exa/ple> even at a rate of '( c/Nyr> it i!Iue!tionable %hether the force! of the colli!ion bet%een the Andian7u!tralian and Eura!ian 2late! could have been!ufficient to pu!h up the 9i/alaya!& Dn the other hand> cata!trophic plate tectonic! in the context of the Flood can explain

ho% the plate! overca/e the vi!cou! drag of the earth5! /antle for a !hort ti/e due to the enor/ou! cata!trophic force! at%ork> follo%ed by a rapid !lo%ing do%n to pre!ent rate!&Continental !eparation !olve! apparent geological enig/a!& For in!tance> it explain! the a/aing !i/ilaritie! of !edi/entary layer! in the north3ea!tern +nited 0tate! to tho!e in ritain& Atal!o explain! the ab!ence of tho!e !a/e layer! in the intervening Borth 7tlantic ocean ba!in> a! %ell a! the !i/ilaritie! inthe geology of part! of 7u!tralia %ith 0outh 7frica> Andia> and 7ntarctica&C!$#'"%!$Early !keptici!/ about plate tectonic! ha! largely evaporated becau!e the fra/e%ork ha! !uch great explanatory po%er&The cata!trophic plate tectonic! /odel for the Flood not only include! the!e explanatory ele/ent!> but al!o account! for %ide!pread evidence! of /a!!ive flooding and cata!trophic geological proce!!e! on the continent!&Future refine/ent of the/odel /ay al!o help to explain the order and di!tribution of fo!!il! ob!erved in the fo!!il record in the context of the FloodJ!ee Chapter ' and radical> and /uch %ork ha! yet to be done to fle!h out the detail!& There /ay even be /a-or /odification! to the theory that increa!e it! explanatory po%er> or future di!coverie! could cau!e the /odel to beabandoned& 0uch i! the nature of !cientific progre!!&

W70 GEDDGAC7 +BAFD@MAT7@A7BA0M T9E @E0+T DF$A02700ADB7TE 0CAEBTAFAC EBO+A@)

M%$&)a' &4!'"t%!$What5! next? Geobiology or biogeology?

%y Emil Silvestru 7lthough Charle! $ar%in con!idered hi/!elf a geologi!t> he i! revered today a! the pillar of /odern biology& ut that !oon /ay change if hi! evolutionary idea! %ill be applied to/ineral! too& There i! no% a trend to%ard! the blurring of the frontier! of the earth and life!cience!> a pu!h for integration& Within the evolutionary paradig/> geology repre!ent! the!upre/e argu/ent> an archive of life5! change! Jfro/ goo3to3youK over billion! of year!&ut recent re!earch i! pu!hing the idea that /ineral! al!o evolved> ' actually co3evolved

%ith life a! @obert 9aen !ay! in an intervie%&*>: Thu! the grand rug of $ar%inian evolutioni! extended to cover /ineralogy and i/plicitly geology& 7 clo!er analy!i! of thi! ne% ideaand the %ay it i! being pu!hed> portray! all the ingredient! of a political agenda that !eek!the ever increa!ing integration that the !ecular acade/ic e!tabli!h/ent force! upon!cienti!t!> a for/ of acade/ic co//uni!/&What % &%$. a%(+The contention i! that throughout the hi!tory of the earth> /ineral! have changed& Thi!change i! eIuated to evolution5 J%hich in fact /ean! change over ti/e5K> although not a

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$ar%inian concept of evolution becau!e /ineral! do not /utate5& * Mineral !pecie! are al%ay! the !a/eL they do not changeover ti/e&* )et> a! the dyna/ic earth changed in ti/e> ne% /ineral! %ere for/ed and> becau!e at !o/e point life!ignificantly changed the condition! on Earth> life ha! al!o influenced the /ineral kingdo/& The /ain exa/ple provided by9aen* i! that of life producing a toxic ga!5oxygen%hich allo%ed the for/ation of oxidic /ineral! that did not exi!tbefore> !uch a! auriteCu:JCD:K*JD9K*& Df the approxi/ately 4>:(( kno%n /ineral !pecie!> 9aen clai/! that t%o third!are life3/ediated5&*Thi! !ee/! to clo!e the circle becau!e !o/e !peculation!>4 pre!ented a! fact! by philo!opher Michael@u!e in en 0tein5! fil/ #&pelled' No ntelligence llowed > %ere /ade that life /ay have evolved on cry!tal !urface! %herecertain che/ical! tend to accu/ulate and /aybe the regular !tructure of cry!tal! cau!ed the fir!t poly/er! to for/& 60o> toconclude. life %a! born on cry!tal !urface! and after it reached a certain bio3/a!!> life influenced cry!tal! and /ineral! intheir evolution& Can it get better for evolutioni!t!? )e!> !ince they no% !ee thi! ne% approach a! a valuable addition toexobiology> the !earch for extraterre!trial life& 7ll that i! reIuired i! to look into the rock! on other planet! to find life;H!1 % %t &%$. a%(+

The language u!ed in the article! covering thi! ne% topic !ound! like an evolutionary E!peranto. /ineral evolution> co-evolution> niches and !uch like& 9aen clearly !tate! in hi! intervie%* . )ou cannot be a geologi!t %ithout thinking of biologyand you cannot be a biologi!t %ithout thinking of geology&5 The /otivation here !ee/! obviou!. %e need to reinforce bothbiology and geology by integrating the/ into one> larger and /ore defendable body& 0uch a /otivation undoubtedly reveal!that both evolutionary biology and evolutionary geology feel threatened;7bove all> thi! i! yet another /edia trick a! 9aenindirectly ad/it! %hen he !tate! that> thi! i! a !tory and people like !torie!5& * An other %ord!> the dry language of cry!tallography and /ineralogy ha! no appeal to the great public> but by turning it into yet another> fa/iliar3!ounding>evolution !tory> /ineral! beco/e alive; Dne cannot help but %onder %hether /ineralogi!t! are !eeking to increa!e their re!earch fund! through thi! type of hype&What % $!t &%$. a%(

F%.")& 65 2ha!e diagra/ for the 7l*0iD there i! hardly anything ne% in all thi! hype& That/ineral! have changed over ti/e i! !o/ething %ell3under!toodbecau!e petrology> the !tudy of the rock!> i! built on the idea of che/ical change! over ti/e& 7lthough riddled %ith contradiction!> theGreat Dxidation Event JGDEK# %a! al%ay! !een a! the !ource of thefir!t oxidic /ineral!> even if carbonate rock!> %hich contain oxygen>exi!t that are clai/ed to be older than the GDE& # 9o%ever> no3onethought to link it to life %ithin an evolutionary !cenario&9aen and hi!tea/ avoid taking the evolutionary analogy further> although theingredient! are there; When clai/ing /ineral !pecie! do not changeover ti/e> he i! only telling half of the !tory& There are /ineral!kno%n a! structural polymorphs, an exa/ple of %hich i! theandalu!ite3!ili/anite !erie!&1 7lthough there are !everal different/ineral! in thi! !erie!> they are all for/ed fro/ the !a/e three

che/ical ele/ent!. 7l> 0i and D in the e/pirical for/ula 7l *0iD andalu!ite J7l*P0iD4QDK and !illi/anite J7lP7l0iD %hatactually change!? Dne /ineral into another; An a proce!! kno%n a! dolo/itiation5> the addition of /agne!iu/ to calciteJCaCD:K change! it into dolo/ite JCaMgJCD:K*K& 7ccording to 9aen5! evolutionary analogy> thi! !hould be defineda! mineral evolution by mutationL it al!o exhibit! natural selection !ince the /ineral! have adapted5 to ne% che/icalcondition!;9o% could 9aen /i!! thi!? Maybe he didn5t and -u!t !killfully avoided taking the analogy too far for it !hould beobviou! that thi! i! not %hat $ar%in /eant by evolution5; $ar%inian evolution proceed! by /utation! fro/ %ithin and not by

adding pre3exi!ting infor/ation fro/ out!ide; $ar%in5! diver!ification of taxa i! explained by the repeated !plitting of onetaxon into t%o or /ore taxa> not by /erging t%o or /ore taxa into one& y leaving thing! at the !hallo%e!t level po!!ible>9aen R Co& hope to blae the trail to%ard integration into either geobiology5 or biogeology5;I th% a $&1 #ha''&$.& t! 3!"$.-&a)th #)&at%!$ /!(&'+Bot really& Af there i! a challenge> it5! /o!tly a /ethodological one& Antegration5 !ee/! to be the battle cry of the evolutionarye!tabli!h/ent but the !hallo%ne!! of thi! ne% idea provide! excellent ground! for creationi!t! to di!/antle it and bycon!eIuence further expo!e the fallacie! of $ar%inian evolution&

C7B GEDDGAC7 0T@+CT+@E0 T97T WE 0EE TD$7) E ES27ABE$ ) 7 GD7 FDD$

Ca$ F'!!( G&!'!.3 E7'a%$ Th%#8 Cha'8 B&(+by $r& 7ndre% 7& 0nelling on 7pril '> '884

*riginally pu%lished in +ournal of Creation , no (pril /)' -0.At)a#t1y working from what is known to occur today, even if rare and catastrophic %y today$s standards, we can realistically calculate production of thick chalk %eds within the conditions of the 2lood.Mo!t people %ould have heard of> or !een J%hether in per!on or in photograph!K> the fa/ou! White Cliff! of $over in!outhern England& The !a/e bed! of chalk are al!o found along the coa!t of France on the other !ide of the Engli!hChannel& The chalk bed! extend inland acro!! England and northern France> being found a! far north and %e!t a! the 7ntri/ Coa!t and ad-oining area! of Borthern Areland& Exten!ive chalk bed! are al!o found in Borth 7/erica> through

http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef4http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef4http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef4http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef5http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef5http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef6http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef7http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef8http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef8http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef8https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef4http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef5http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef6http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef7http://creation.com/mineral-evolution#endRef8https://answersingenesis.org/bios/andrew-snelling/


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7laba/a> Mi!!i!!ippi and Tenne!!ee Jthe 0el/a ChalkK> in Bebra!ka and ad-oining !tate! Jthe Biobrara ChalkK> and in,an!a! Jthe Fort 9aye! ChalkK&'The atin %ord for chalk i! creta& Tho!e fa/iliar %ith the geological colu/n and it!evolutionary ti/e3!cale %ill recognie thi! a! the na/e for one of it! period!the Cretaceou!& ecau!e /o!t geologi!t!believe in the geological evolution of the earth5! !trata and feature! over /illion! of year!> they have linked all the!e!cattered chalk bed! acro!! the %orld into thi! !o3called chalk age5> that i!> a !uppo!edly great period of /illion! of year! of chalk bed for/ation&S! What I Cha'8+2orou!> relatively !oft> fine3textured and !o/e%hat friable> chalk nor/ally i! %hite and con!i!t! al/o!t %holly of calciu/carbonate a! the co//on /ineral calcite& At i! thu! a type of li/e!tone> and a very pure one at that& The calciu/ carbonatecontent of French chalk varie! bet%een 8( and 81> and the ,an!a! chalk i! 1181 calciu/ carbonate Javerage84K&* +nder the /icro!cope> chalk con!i!t! of the tiny !hell! Jcalled te!t!K of countle!! billion! of /icroorgani!/!co/po!ed of clear calcite !et in a !tructurele!! /atrix of fine3grained calciu/ carbonate J/icrocry!talline calciteK& The t%o

/a-or /icroorgani!/! %ho!e re/ain! are thu! fo!!ili!ed in chalk are fora/inifera and the !pike! and cell! of calcareou!algU kno%n a! coccolith! and rhabdolith!&9o% then doe! chalk for/? Mo!t geologi!t! believe that the pre!ent i! the key tothe pa!t5 and !o look to !ee %here !uch /icroorgani!/! live today> and ho% and %here their re/ain! accu/ulate& Thefora/inifera found fo!!ili!ed in chalk are of a type called the planktonic fora/inifera> becau!e they live floating in the upper '((*(( /etre! of the open !ea!& The bro%n algU that produce tiny %a!her3!haped coccolith! are kno%n a!coccolithophore!> and the!e al!o float in the upper !ection of the open !ea!&The ocean! today cover al/o!t #' of theearth5! !urface& 7bout *( of the ocean! lie over the !hallo%er continental /argin!> %hile the re!t cover! the deeper oceanfloor> %hich i! blanketed by a variety of !edi/ent!& 7/ong!t the!e are %hat are kno%n a! ooe!> !o3called becau!e /ore

than :( of the !edi/ent con!i!t! of the !hell! of /icroorgani!/! !uch a! fora/inifera andcoccolithophore!&: Andeed> about half of the deep oceanfloor i! covered by light3coloured calcareou! Jcalciu/carbonate3richK ooe generally do%n to depth! of 4> thi! !till /ean!that about one Iuarter of the !urface of the earth i!covered by the!e !hell rich depo!it! produced bythe!e /icro!copic plant! and ani/al! living near the!urface of the ocean&Geologi!t! believe that the!eooe! for/ a! a re!ult of the!e /icroorgani!/! dying>%ith the calciu/ carbonate !hell! and coccolith! falling!lo%ly do%n to accu/ulate on the ocean floor& At ha!been e!ti/ated that a large ' %herea!

!/aller one! %ould probably take /uch longer& 7t the !a/e ti/e> /any !uch !hell! /ay di!!olve before they even reachthe ocean floor& Beverthele!!> it i! via thi! !lo% accu/ulation of calcareou! ooe on the deep ocean floor that geologi!t!believe chalk bed! originally for/ed&3icrofossils and microcrystalline calcite4Cretaceous chalk, 1allintoy 5ar%our, ntrim Coast, Northern reland under the

microscope (67&) (photo' 8r. ndrew 9nelling)Th& 0P)!'&/2 F!) F'!!( G&!'!.3Thi! i! the point %here critic!> and not only tho!e in the evolutioni!t ca/p> have !aid that it i! -u!t not po!!ible to explain thefor/ation of the chalk bed! in the White Cliff! of $over via the geological action of the Flood JFlood geologyK& The deep3!ea!edi/ent! on the ocean floor today average a thickne!! of about 4((( /etre! thick& An the /id32acific the !edi/ent cover /ay be le!! than'(( /etre! thick& The!e difference! in thickne!!e! of cour!e reflect difference! in accu/ulation rate!> o%ing to variation! inthe !edi/ent! brought in by river! and airborne du!t> and the production of organic debri! %ithin the ocean !urface %ater!&The latter i! in turn affected by factor! !uch a! productivity rate! for the /icroorgani!/! in Iue!tion> the nutrient !upply andthe ocean %ater concentration! of calciu/ carbonate& Beverthele!!> it i! on the deep ocean floor> %ell a%ay fro/ land> thatthe pure!t calcareou! ooe ha! accu/ulated %hich %ould be regarded a! the pre!ent3day forerunner to a chalk bed> andreported accu/ulation rate! there range fro/ '1c/ per '>((( year! for calcareou! ooe do/inated by fora/inifera and *'( c/ per '>((( year! for ooe! do/inated by coccolith!& right at the lo%er end of today5! accu/ulation rate! Iuoted above& Thu! the evolutionary geologi!t! feelvindicated> and the critic! in!i!t that there i! too /uch chalk to have been originally depo!ited a! calcareou! ooe by theFlood&ut that i! not the only challenge creationi!t! face concerning depo!ition of chalk bed! during the Flood& 0chade%aldha! in!i!ted that if all of the fo!!ili!ed ani/al!> including the fora/inifera and coccolithophore! %ho!e re/ain! are found inchalk> could be re!urrected> then they %ould cover the entire planet to a depth of at lea!t 4 %hen all the other chalk bed! around the%orld are al!o taken into account> the nu/ber of /icroorgani!/! involved could not po!!ibly have all lived on the earth atthe !a/e ti/e to thu! be buried during the Flood&8Further/ore> he in!i!t! that even apart fro/ the organic proble/> there i!the Iuantity of carbon dioxide JCD*K nece!!ary to have enabled the production of all the calciu/ carbonate by the/icroorgani!/! %ho!e calcareou! re/ain! are no% ento/bed in the chalk bed!& Con!idering all the other li/e!tone! too>he !ay!> there -u!t couldn5t have been enough CD* in the at/o!phere at the ti/e of the Flood to account for all the!ecalciu/ carbonate depo!it!&C)&at%!$%t R&!$&


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T%o creationi!t! have done /uch to provide a!ati!factory re!pon!e to the!e ob-ection!again!t Flood geologygeologi!t! $r 7riel@oth of the Geo!cience @e!earch An!tituteJo/a inda> CaliforniaK and =ohnWood/orappe& oth agree that biologicalproductivity doe! not appear to be the li/itingfactor& @oth'( !ugge!t! that in the !urfacelayer! of the ocean the!e carbonate3!ecretingorgani!/! at opti/u/ production rate! couldproduce all the calcareou! ooe on the oceanfloor today in probably le!! than '>((( or *>(((

year!& 9e argue! that> if a high concentrationof fora/inifera of '(( per litre of ocean %ater %ere a!!u/ed>'' a doubling ti/e of :&6< day!>and an average of '(>((( fora/inifera per gra/ of carbonate>'* the top *(( /etre! of theocean %ould produce *( gra/! of calciu/carbonate per !Iuare centi/etre per year> or at

an average !edi/ent den!ity of * gra/! per cubic centi/etre> '(( /etre! in '>((( year!& 0o/e of thi! calciu/ carbonate%ould be di!!olved at depth !o the ti/e factor %ould probably need to be increa!ed to co/pen!ate for thi!> but if there %a!increa!ed carbonate input to the ocean %ater! fro/ other !ource! then thi! %ould cancel out& 7l!o> reproduction of fora/inifera belo% the top *(( /etre! of ocean %ater %ould like%i!e tend to !horten the ti/e reIuired&Coccolithophore! onthe other hand reproduce fa!ter than fora/inifera and are a/ong!t the fa!te!t gro%ing planktonic algU> ': !o/eti/e!/ultiplying at the rate of *&*< divi!ion! per day& @oth !ugge!t! that if %e a!!u/e an average coccolith ha! a volu/e of ** x'( '* cubic centi/etre!> an average %eight of 6( x '( 3'* gra/! per coccolith>'4*( coccolith! produced per coccolithophore>

': x '(

6

coccolithophore! per litre of ocean %ater>

'<

a dividing rate of t%o ti/e! per day and a den!ity of * gra/! per cubiccenti/etre for the !edi/ent! produced> one get! a potential production rate of but the net re!ult again i! to e!!entially affir/ the rate -u!t calculated&Wood/orappe'6 approached the /atter in a different%ay& 7!!u/ing that all li/e!tone! in the +pper Cretaceou! and Tertiary divi!ion! of the geological colu/n are all chalk!> hefound that the!e accounted for '#&< /illion cubic kilo/etre! of rock& JDf cour!e> not all the!e li/e!tone! are chalk!> but heu!ed thi! figure to /ake the proble/5 /ore difficult> !o a! to get the /o!t con!ervative calculation re!ult!&K Then u!ing@oth5! calculation of a '(( /etre thickne!! of coccolith! produced every *(( year!> Wood/orappe found that one %ouldonly need *'&' /illion !Iuare kilo/etre! or 4&' of the earth 5! !urface to be coccolith3producing !ea! to !upply the '#&</illion cubic kilo/etre! of coccolith! in '>6((3'>#(( year!> that i!> in the pre3Flood era& 9e al!o /ade further calculation! by!tarting again fro/ the ba!ic para/eter! reIuired> and found that he could reduce that figure to only '*&< /illion !Iuarekilo/etre! of ocean area or *& the!e calculation! overlook one /a-or relevant i!!ue the!e chalk bed! %ere (&!%t&( (")%$.th& F'!!(& Creationi!t geologi!t! /ay have different vie%! a! to %here the pre3FloodNFlood boundary i! in the geologicalrecord> but the /a-ority %ould regard the!e +pper Cretaceou! chalk! a! having been depo!ited very late in the Flood& Thatbeing the ca!e> the coccolith! and fora/iniferal !hell! that are no% in the chalk bed! %ould have to have been producedduring the Flood it!elf> $!t in the '>6(('>#(( year! of the pre3Flood era a! calculated by Wood/orappe> for !urely if there%ere that /any around at the out!et of the Flood the!e chalk bed! !hould have been depo!ited !ooner rather than later during the Flood event& 0i/ilarly> @oth5! calculation! of the reIuired Iuantitie! potentially being produced in up to '>(((year! /ay %ell !ho% that the Iuantitie! of calcareou! ooe! on today5! ocean floor! are ea!ily producible in the ti/e3!pan!ince the Flood> but the!e calculation! are in!ufficient to !ho% ho% the!e chalk bed! could be produced (")%$. the Floodit!elf&Beverthele!!> both Wood/orappe and @oth recognie that even today coccolith accu/ulation i! not !teady3!tate but

highly epi!odic> for under the right condition! !ignificant increa!e! in the concentration! of the!e /arine /icroorgani!/! canoccur> a! in plankton bloo/!5 and red tide!& For exa/ple> there are inten!e bloo/! of coccolith! that cau!e %hite %ater5!ituation! becau!e of the coccolith concentration!>'' and during bloo/ period! in the %ater! near =a/aica /icroorgani!/nu/ber! have been reported a! increa!ing fro/ '((>((( per litre to '( /illion per litre of ocean %ater& '1 The rea!on! for the!e bloo/! are poorly under!tood> but !ugge!tion! include turbulence of the !ea> %ind> '8 decaying fi!h>*( nutrient! fro/fre!h%ater inflo% and up%elling> and te/perature&*'Without a doubt> all of the!e !tated condition! %ould have beengenerated during the cata!trophic global upheaval of the Flood> and thu! rapid production of carbonate !keleton! byfora/inifera and coccolithophore! %ould be po!!ible& Ther/odyna/ic con!ideration! %ould definitely not prevent a /uchlarger bio/a!! !uch a! thi! being produced> !ince 0chade%ald %ho rai!ed thi! a! a proble/5 i! clearly %rong& At ha! beenreported that oceanic productivity


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and coccolithophore!& Further/ore> the !a/e volcanic activity %ould have potentially relea!ed copiou! Iuantitie! of nutrient! into the ocean %ater!> a! %ell a! prodigiou! a/ount! of the CD * that i! !o nece!!ary for the production of thecalciu/ carbonate by the!e /icroorgani!/!& Even today the volcanic output of CD* ha! been e!ti/ated at about 6&6 /illiontonne! per year> %hile calculation! ba!ed on pa!t eruption! and the /o!t recent volcanic depo!it! in the rock record !ugge!ta! /uch a! a !taggering 44 billion tonne! of CD * have been added to the at/o!phere and ocean! in the recent pa!t Jthat i!>in the /o!t recent part of the po!t3Flood eraK&*<

Th& F%$a' A$1&) The !ituation ha! been kno%n %here pollution in coa!tal area! ha! contributed to the explo!ive /ultiplication of /icroorgani!/! in the ocean %ater! to peak concentration! of /ore than '( billion per litre& *6 Wood/orappe ha! calculatedthat in chalk there could be a! /any a! : x '( ': coccolith! per cubic /etre if den!ely packed J%hich u!ually i!n5t the ca!eK>yet in the kno%n bloo/ -u!t /entioned> '( billion /icroorgani!/! per litre of ocean %ater eIuate! to '(': /icroorgani!/!per cubic /etre&7dapting !o/e of Wood/orappe5! calculation!> if the '( of the earth5! !urface that no% contain! chalk

bed! %a! covered in %ater> a! it !till %a! near the end of the Flood> and if that %ater explo!ively bloo/ed %ithcoccolithophore! and fora/inifera %ith up to '(': /icroorgani!/! per cubic /etre of %ater do%n to a depth of le!! than then it %ould have only taken t%o or three !uch bloo/! to produce the reIuired Iuantity of /icroorgani!/! to be fo!!ili!ed in the chalk bed!& e!t it be argued that a concentration of '( ': /icroorgani!/! per cubic/etre %ould extingui!h all light %ithin a fe% /etre! of the !urface> it !hould be noted that phytoflagellate! !uch a! the!e areable to feed on bacteria> that i!> planktonic !pecie! are capable of heterotrophi!/ Jthey are /ixotrophic5K&*# 0uch bacteria%ould have been in abundance> breaking do%n the /a!!e! of floating and !ub/erged organic debri! Jdead fi!h> plant!>ani/al!> etc&K generated by the flood& Thu! production of coccolithophore! and fora/inifera i! not dependent on !unlight>the !upply of organic /aterial potentially !upporting a den!e concentration&0ince> for exa/ple> in !outhern England thereare three /ain chalk bed! !tacked on top of one another> then thi! !cenario of three !ucce!!ive> explo!ive> /a!!ive bloo/!coincide! %ith the rock record& Given that the turnover rate for coccolith! i! up to t%o day!> *1 then the!e chalk bed! couldthu! have been produced in a! little a! !ix day!> totally conceivable %ithin the ti/e fra/e%ork of the flood& What i! certain> i!that the right !et of condition! nece!!ary for !uch bloo/! to occur had to have coincided in full /ea!ure to have explo!ivelygenerated !uch enor/ou! bloo/!> but the evidence that it did happen i! there for all to plainly !ee in the!e chalk bed! in the

geological record& Andeed> the purity of the!e thick chalk bed! %orld%ide al!o te!tifie! to their cata!trophic depo!ition fro/enor/ou! explo!ively generated bloo/!> !ince during protracted depo!ition over !uppo!ed /illion! of year! it i! !trainingcredulity to expect that !uch purity %ould be /aintained %ithout conta/inating event! depo!iting other type! of !edi/ent!&There are variation! in con!i!tency J!ee 7ppendixK but not purity& The only additional /aterial in the chalk i! fo!!il! of /acro!copic organi!/! !uch a! a//onite! and other /ollu!c!> %ho!e fo!!ili!ation al!o reIuire! rapid burial becau!e of their !ie J!ee 7ppendixK&Bo doubt there are factor! that need to be better Iuantified in !uch a !erie! of calculation!> but %eare dealing %ith a catacly!/ic Flood> the like of %hich ha! not been experienced !ince for u! to !tudy it! proce!!e!&9o%ever> %e do have the re!ult! of it! pa!!ing in the rock record to !tudy> and it i! clear that by %orking fro/ %hat i! kno%nto occur today> even if rare and cata!trophic by today5! !tandard!> %e can reali!tically calculate production of the!e chalkbed! %ithin the ti/e fra/e%ork and catacly!/ic activity of the Flood> and in !o doing re!pond adeIuately to the ob-ection!and proble/!5 rai!ed by the critic!&

D&4%' T!1&) #a$ & &7'a%$&( 3 *'!!(1at&) )"$!** %y Michael J. Oard

$evil! To%er> Wyo/ing> i! likely the conduit of an eroded volcano> but there are three other hypothe!e! for it! origin&@egardle!!> /ore than :(( / of 9igh 2lain! !edi/entary rock %a! eroded %ith the To%er hardly touched& Theunifor/itarian !tory> a! for/erly !tated on a road !ign north of the To%er> i! that ero!ion of the 9igh 2lain! !edi/entaryrock! took /ore than 4( Ma& That !ign ha! been replaced> and it no% !ay! it took only ' to * Ma& 9o%ever> the ero!ion of !uch a vertical to%er !hould be rapid and co/plete %ell %ithin '((>((( year!& 7lthough the To%er i! actively eroding today> itha! not decrea!ed /uch in !ie> i/plying a very recent expo!ure& 0uch a deduction i! con!i!tent %ith the !heet flo% ero!ionduring the runoff of the flood%ater. a contention contrary to the unifor/itarian paradig/&

F%.")& 65 $evil! To%er in northea!t Wyo/ing> +nited 0tate!&Bote the vertical fracture!> called -oint!> that !hould re!ult inrapid ero!ion fro/ the freee3tha% /echani!/&$evil! To%er in the 2o%der @iver ba!in of northea!tWyo/ing> +nited 0tate!> i! one of the /o!t i/pre!!ive

ero!ional re/nant! on Earth Jfigure 'K& At !tand! :8( / highabove the elle Fouche @iver> reaching an altitude of '> 2re!ident Theodore @oo!evelt e!tabli!hed$evil! To%er and a !/all area !urrounding it a! the fir!tnational /onu/ent in '8(6&The vertical> round to%er i! :((/ in dia/eter at it! ba!e and i! co/po!ed of phonoliteporphyry> a hard igneou! intru!ive rock& The !a/e rock al!ointrude! el!e%here through !edi/entary rock! in theregion&' For in!tance> -u!t %e!t of $evil! To%er are theMi!!ouri utte! %ith the !a/e kind of rock&

F%.")& 95 The feather!5 of ea!tern Wa!hington> +nited 0tate!> co/po!ed of a !ingle ro% of large colu/n! fro/ theColu/bia @iver a!alt& The feature! %ere expo!ed by ero!ion on either !ide by the ake Mi!!oula flood&When the igneou! rock of $evil! To%er cooled and contracted> vertical colu/n! %ith regular crack! %ere for/ed !i/ilar totho!e in the large ba!alt flo%! cooled in the exten!ive Colu/bia @iver a!alt flo%! in Wa!hington> northern Dregon> andad-acent Adaho Jfigure *K& 7 ,io%a Bative 7/erican legend !ugge!t! the vertical colu/n! %ere cau!ed by a great bear raking the !ide! in trying to get to !o/e children at the top of the To%er&

https://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttps://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttps://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttps://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttp://creation.com/michael-j-oardhttp://creation.com/devils-tower-can-be-explained-by-floodwater-runoff#endRef1http://creation.com/devils-tower-can-be-explained-by-floodwater-runoff#endRef1http://creation.com/devils-tower-can-be-explained-by-floodwater-runoff#endRef1https://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttps://answersingenesis.org/geology/sedimentation/can-flood-geology-explain-thick-chalk-beds/#hardgroundhttp://creation.com/michael-j-oardhttp://creation.com/devils-tower-can-be-explained-by-floodwater-runoff#endRef1


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The phonolite porphyry i! believed to be :: to : Af !o> it had to erupt through sedimentary rocks that %ere near or above the top of the to%er& Thu!> over :(( / of !edi/entary rock! have beeneroded fro/ around the To%er> and by inference> fro/ thi! entire region of northea!t Wyo/ing& Thi! /uch ero!ion i! reinforced by reference to the 2u/pkinutte!> a !edi/entary ero!ional re/nant> farther !outh in the /iddle of the2o%der @iver ba!in&4

F%.")& :5 7 road !ign that u!ed to be at $evil! To%er Bational Monu/ent

!ho%ing the unifor/itarian interpretation of !lo% ero!ion over /illion! of year!& 7ccording to unifor/itariani!/> -u!t the top * thei/portant point i! that $evil! To%er %a!once completely covered by !edi/entary rock!>and thi! rock %a! eroded to expo!e $evil!To%er& 7 !ign in the vi!itor5! center even !tate!that the !edi/entary rock %a! once *&4 k/thick and eroded over %hich /ean!

that the !edi/entary rock i! believed to have been !ix ti/e! the height of $evil!To%er& A do not think there i! any evidence for thi! unifor/itarian belief> but %e dokno% that the !edi/entary rock! had to be thicker by :(( / to cover the To%er&

Th& #ha$.%$. t!)3 !* h%.h 'a%$ &)!%!$ 7 previou! road !ign north of $evil! To%er Bational

Monu/ent de!cribed the length of ti/e for the expo!ure of $evil! To%er Jfigure :K& Geologi!t! believed that the top * the re/ainder of the!edi/entary rock took 4( Ma to erode to the pre!entland!cape& 1ut, this re:uires 8evil Tower to remain with li ttlechange in its diameter or height for /7 3a; 9o% could bothhard !and!tone and !oft !hale fro/ the 9igh 2lain! beeroded %ithout any !ignificant ero!ion of the To%er it!elf?Further/ore> the plain! !edi/ent! are not found in !o/ehuge flood plain to the ea!t or !outhea!t Jdo%n!lopeK& The!edi/ent! have been !%ept clean fro/ the continent&

F%.")& a *#< / high ero!ional re/nantof ba!alt lava in the +pper Grand Coulee> Wa!hington& The

lava around 0tea/boat @ock %a! eroded in a fe% day! bythe lake Mi!!oula flood&

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F%.")& =5 0che/atic of $evil! To%er ero!ion %ith reali!ticero!ion rate! over /illion! of year!&9o%ever> thi! !tory of !lo% ero!ion %ith the To%er hardly erodedin 4( Ma /u!t have !ee/ed outrageou! even to unifor/itarian!cienti!t!& An fact> the !ign ha! been replaced Jfigure 4K& 7d/itting that the origin of the pro/inent rock obeli!k re/ain!V!o/e%hat ob!cure> the !ign goe! on to !tate ho% the To%er ha! beco/e expo!ed in only the pa!t ' to * Ma; 0o> in!tead of the extre/ely !lo% ero!ion of the 2lain! !and!tone and !hale>:(( / of ero!ion ha! occurred %ithin * Ma& Thi! i! a rather radical change of idea! on the 9igh 2lain! ero!ion rate&Wherea! the previou! e!ti/ate %a! /uch too !lo%> co/pared to

today5! ero!ion rate> the ne% e!ti/ate no% !ee/! too fa!t>e!pecially in vie% of the fact that the To%er ha! changed it!dia/eter little in all that ti/e&Wh3 h!"'( D&4%' T!1&) )&/a%$ ta$(%$. *!) /%''%!$ !* 3&a)+The /ea!ure/ent of river !edi/ent output into theocean!


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0peci/en Creek for/ation i! e!pecially hugeit! total vertical height i! '>((( /eter! J:>4(( feetK& Thi! rai!e! the Iue!tion.ho% did the petrified tree layer! for/?Th& &4!'"t%!$%t &7'a$at%!$Evolutioni!t! and other long3ager! u!ually teach the follo%ing !cenario.Each layer i! the re/ain! of a fore!t&Each fore!t %a! buried where it grew by volcanic a!h and other debri!&$i!!olved /ineral! %ere !oaked up by the tree!> petrifying the/& 7fter about *(( year!> the a!h %eathered into clay> then into !oil& 7 ne% fore!t gre% on top of %here the previou! one had !tood& Fro/ the %ell3pre!erved tree ring!> the olde!t tree in eachlayer %a! about and the proce!! repeated&The entire !tack of layer! %a! eroded> !uch that their edge! are no% expo!ed in a cliff J!ee diagra/ on p& *' of the

/againeK&Af thi! !cenario %ere true> it %ould have taken nearly 4(>((( year! to for/ the entire !erie! at 0peci/en Creek&9o%ever> !ince thi! !cenario i! ba!ed on the unob!ervable past > it i! not part of nor/al JoperationalK !cience> a! thi! deal!%ith repeatable ob!ervation! in the present & ut a! %e %ill !ee> there are certain feature! of 0peci/en @idge that /ake no!en!e under thi! explanation&'

0o/e of the vie%! of the upright tree trunk! in the )ello%!tone petrified fore!t5&P)!'&/ 1%th th& '!$.-a.& #&$a)%!The arro%! indicate !o/e of the vi!ible !tu/p! on thi! hill!ide at 0peci/en Creek& 7lthough they look a! if they gre% in

the!e po!ition!> the evidence indicate! other%i!e&Gro%ing tree! haveexten!ive root !y!te/!> u!ually *(:( of the total dry /a!! of thetree& ut the )ello%!tone petrified tree! have their large root! brokenoff> leaving root ball!&5 Thi! happen! %hen tree! are forcefully pu!hedout of the ground> e&g& by a bulldoer&7 fore!t buried in place %ouldbe expected to have /any petrified branche! and /uch petrifiedbark& ut the )ello%!tone petrified tree trunk!> /o!tly :4 /eter!

J'('* feetK tall> have very little bark and very fe% branche!&0o/ething ha! !tripped /o!t of the bark and broken off /o!t li/b!>leaving only knot! in the trunk!&0o/e of the tree! extend into thefore!t5 layer above& ut if the next layer had to %ait hundred! of year!for the a!h covering to %eather into !oil J!o the next5 fore!t couldgro%K> then the expo!ed tree top %ould have co/pletely decayed&ut if the tree! %ere all laid do%n Iuickly> thi! ob!ervation !hould notbe !urpri!ing&When tree! fall in fore!t!> e!pecially %ith a flat floor>they have an eIual chance of lying in any direction& ut in thepetrified fore!t!>5 the pro!trate Jlying do%nK tree! tend to align in the!a/e direction& 7l!o> even the upright trunk! are turned !o their longaxi! i! aligned the !a/e %ay& Thi! i! con!i!tent %ith a co//on force>e&g& /oving %ater or /ud> having acted on both after they %ereuprooted&

Af the layer! had been buried by volcanic eruption! thou!and! of year! apart> the /ineral content of each %ould probably have been Iuite different& ut the /ineral content re/ain! the !a/ethroughout over a kilo/eter of vertical height& Thi! !ugge!t! one or fe% volcanic epi!ode!> %ith /any pul!e! %ithin eachepi!ode> all %ithin a fairly !hort ti/e fra/e&Gro%ing fore!t! have definite !oil and hu/u! layer!> %ith lot! of rootlet! a! %ella! a thriving ani/al population& 9o%ever> the petrified fore!t!5 lack all the!e&0tudie! of the )ello%!tone plant!> includingpollen analy!i!> !ho% that there are /any /ore plant !pecie! than %ould be expected in a fore!t& 7nd often the pollendoe!n5t /atch the nearby tree!& 9o%ever> thi! %ould be explainable if the tree! had been uprooted and tran!ported fro/!everal place!&An a real fore!t> plant debri! for/! an organic layer on the fore!t floor& The deeper the /aterial> the older it i!>!o the /ore ti/e it ha! had to decay& ut the petrified fore!t! lack thi! pattern of greater decay %ith depth& There are al!ofinely pre!erved leave!!ince leave! do not retain their !hape for very long after they fall off the tree> the!e leave! %ereprobably buried very Iuickly&olcanic /ineral! !uch a! feld!par! Iuickly %eather into clay %hen expo!ed to %ater and air&ut the petrified fore!t5 layer! lack clay& Thi! !ugge!t! that none of the layer! %ere expo!ed for very long&The pattern! of particle !ie! in rock layer! often indicate ho% they for/ed& Con!ider a bag of /ixed nut!often they %ill be rando/ly/ixed& Dr> if they are !haken> the large brail nut! end up on top a! the !/aller nut! fall do%n through the gap!& ut /anyrock layer! %hich have been laid under %ater !ho% pattern! different to the!e& The large grain! have !unk to the botto/>

and been covered by !/aller grain!a pattern called graded %edding & 7l!o> if the %ater i! /oving horiontally> alternatinglayer! of coar!e and fine grain! for/&*>:>4> con!i!tent %ith being for/ed under %ater& 0o/e bed! of coar!e /aterial have tongue! of a!h penetratingthe/& 7l!o> !uch flat bed! %ould !ee/ to reIuire a lot of %ater !o the /aterial can flo% over !uch large di!tance!& 0o/evolcanic rock! in Be% Xealand that are generally accepted to have been depo!ited under %ater look very !i/ilar to the)ello%!tone rock!&'+nder nor/al circu/!tance!> a tree add! a gro%th ring every year& The thicker the ring> the fa!ter thetree gre% in that ti/e> and thi! depend! on the %eather> a/ong other factor!& 0o tree! gro%ing at the !a/e ti/e androughly in the !a/e area !hould !ho% /atching pattern! of thick and thin ring!& Dn the other hand> tree! gro%ing hundred!

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of year! apart %ould !ho% different pattern!& ecau!e he believed the young age fra/e%ork> geologi!t $r =ohn Morri!predicted in '8#< that tree! in different layer! of the )ello%!tone for/ation! %ould have /atching pattern!> rather thanco/pletely different one!&6)ear! later> $r Michael 7rct analyed cro!!3!ection! of '4 tree! in different level! !panning !even/eter! J*: feetK& 9e found that they all !hared the !a/e di!tinctive !ignature> and that four of the/ had died only !even>four> three and t%o year! before the other ten& The!e ten had apparently peri!hed together> and the evidence %a! con!i!tent%ith the/ all having been uprooted and tran!ported by !ucce!!ive /ud flo%!& #

N&1 &7'a$at%!$ $&&(&( 7! !ho%n above> the !lo% one after the other5 explanation for the )ello%!tone petrified tree! i! inco/patible %ith theevidence& 0tarting fro/ a creation fra/e%ork> %e !hould expect that the fore!t!5 %ere buried recently> and probably by acata!trophe&

Dne of )ello!tone5! pre/iere touri!t attraction!> a gey!er nickna/ed Dld Faithful5& 7 recent cata!trophe ha! given u! !o/e in!ight into %hat /ight have produced the )ello%!tone

petrified fore!t!&5 Dn '1 May> '81(> Mt 0t 9elen! in Wa!hington 0tate erupted %ith the energy of *(>((( 9iro!hi/a bo/b!& 7lthough tiny by the !tandard! of /o!t eruption!> thi! eruptionflattened /illion! of tree! in 6*< !Iuare kilo/eter! J*4( !Iuare /ile!K of fore!t& The eruption al!o/elted !no%field! and glacier!> and cau!ed heavy rainfall& Thi! re!ulted in a /udflo% that pickedup the fallen log! J!o/e of %hich traveled uprightK> !o that both fork! of the Toutle @iver %erelog3-a//ed& 7n earthIuake> @ichter /agnitude bark and an exten!iveroot !y!te/&0ince root! are de!igned to ab!orb %ater> the re/ain! of the root! on the floatinglog! !oaked up %ater fro/ the lake& Thi! cau!ed the root end to !ink> and the log tipped up tofloat in an upright po!ition J!ee photo on p& *' of the /againeK& When a log !oaked up even/ore %ater> it !ank and landed on the lake botto/& $ebri! fro/ the floating log /at and acontinuing influx of !edi/ent fro/ the land Jin the after/ath of the cata!tropheK buried the

log!> still in an upright position& Tree! that !ank later %ould be buried higher up> that i! on ahigher level> although they grew at the same time& Thi! %a! confir/ed by !onar and !cubare!earch by a tea/ led by $r! 0teve 7u!tin and 9arold Coffin& 1>8 y '81 there %ere about'((( upright log! on the botto/& ater> the lake %a! partly drained> expo!ing !o/e of thebotto/> revealing upright log! !tuck in the /ud J!ee photo on p& *' of the /againeK&There i! a/ple evidence that petrifaction need not take very long& 9ot %ater rich in di!!olved/ineral! like !ilica> a! found in !o/e !pring! at )ello%!tone> ha! petrified a block of %ood in only

a year&'(A/agine if the log! on the botto/ of 0pirit ake %ere found thou!and! of year! later& Evolutioni!t! %ould probablyinterpret the/ a! /ultiple fore!t! buried in place> rather than tree! living at the !a/e ti/e that %ere uprooted> tran!ported>and then !unk at different ti/e!&Wh3 (!& %t /att&)+Dne hi!torian of !cience> @onald Bu/ber!> placed hi! faith in fallible hu/an theorie! about the pa!t> and u!ed thi! a! anexcu!e to apo!tatie Jfall a%ay fro/ hi! profe!!ed faithK& 7! he !aid in hi! book on the hi!tory of creationi!/> '' a !uppo!edlyob-ective !tudy.'*A vividly re/e/ber the evening A attended an illu!trated lecture on the fa/ou! !eIuence of fo!!il fore!t! in)ello%!tone Bational 2ark and then !tayed up /o!t of the night " agoniing over> then accepting> the di!turbing likelihood

that the earth %a! at lea!t thirty thou!and year! old& 9aving thu! decided to follo% !cience rather than the !ub-ect of origin!>A Iuickly> though not painle!!ly> !lid do%n the proverbial !lippery !lope to%ard unbelief&5 ':Df cour!e> he %a! not follo%ing!cience>5 in the !en!e of repeatable ob!ervation! in the present L that i!> the type of !cience that !ent /en to the /oon&More i/portantly> he pre!u/ed that he kne% all the fact!> %hich he obviou!ly did not& We !hould re/e/ber the le!!on of 2iltdo%n /an&5 efore the hoax %a! di!covered in '8 thi! convinced /any that evolution %a! true& Tho!e convincedincluded the e/inent Engli!h Chri!tian !urgeon 7rthur @endle 0hort> %ho unlike @onald Bu/ber! never apo!tatied&

U'")" a$( Kata T?"ta@ T&t%/!$3 t! th& F'!!(%y Andrew Snelling

Bo vi!it to Central 7u!tralia i! co/plete %ithout !eeing t%o of 7u!tralia5! /o!t fa/ou! land/ark!+luru J7yer! @ockK and,ata T-uta Jthe Dlga!K& The!e geological for/ation! are !tunning in their beauty> and a%e!o/e in their abrupt contra!t to the!urrounding flat> barren plain!&

U'")"+luru ri!e! !teeply on all !ide! to a height of about :4(

/etre! J'>''4 feetK above the de!ert plain> it! !u//it16# /etre! J*>14< feetK above !ea level& 7n i!olatedrock3/a!!> it /ea!ure! nine kilo/etre! J but it i! not JFigure *> belo%K&An!tead> it i! like the tip of the iceberg5> an enor/ou!outcrop %ith even /ore of the !a/e rock under theground and beneath the !urrounding de!ert !and&+lurucon!i!t! of /any layer! or bed! of the !a/e rock tiltedand !tanding al/o!t up on end Jdipping at 1(1


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Iuite large& The rock fabric con!i!t! of large> /ediu/> !/all> and very !/all grain! rando/ly /ixed together> a conditiongeologi!t! de!cribe a! poorly !orted5 J!ee photo/icrographK& Further/ore> the grain! the/!elve! are often -agged aroundtheir edge!> not !/ooth or rounded&Kata T?"ta,ata T-uta> about :( kilo/etre! J'1 /ile!K %e!t of +luru> con!i!t! of a !erie! of huge> rounded rocky do/e! JFigure :>belo%K& The highe!t> Mt Dlga> reache! '(68 /etre! J:> na/ed after the outcrop atMount Currie> about :< kilo/etre! J** /ile!K north3%e!t of ,ata T-uta& 7 conglo/erate i! a poorly !orted !edi/entary rock

containing pebble!> cobble!> and boulder! of other rock! held together by a /atrix of finer frag/ent! and ce/ented !and>!ilt> andNor /ud& An thi! one> the boulder! Jup to '&< /etre! or five feet acro!!K> cobble!> and pebble! are generally roundedand con!i!t /ainly of granite and ba!alt> but !o/e !and!tone> rhyolite Ja volcanic rockK> and !everal kind! of /eta/orphicrock! are al!o pre!ent& The /atrix i! /o!tly dark greyi!h3green /aterial that %a! once fine !ilt and /ud> though len!e! andbed! of lighter coloured !and!tone al!o occur&The +luru 7rko!e and the Mount Currie Conglo/erate appear to be related bya co//on hi!tory& Though their outcrop! are i!olated fro/ one another> the evidence clearly !ugge!t! that both rock unit!

%ere for/ed at the !a/e ti/e and in the !a/e %ay&Th& &4!'"t%!$a)3 0h%t!)32Mo!t geologi!t! believe that bet%een about 8(( and 6(( /illion year! ago> /uch of Central 7u!tralia lay at or belo% !ea3

level> for/ing a depre!!ion> an ar/ of the !ea> kno%n a! the 7/adeu! a!in& @iver! carried /ud> !and> and gravel into thedepre!!ion> building up layer! of !edi/ent& Dther type! of !edi/entary rock! al!o for/ed& Then> they !ay> about the !outh3%e!tern /argin of the 7/adeu! a!in %a! rai!ed above !ea3level>the rock! %ere !Iueeed> cru/pled and buckled into fold!> and fractured along fault! in a /ountain3building epi!ode&$uringthe later !tage! of thi! epi!ode> rapid5 ero!ion carved out the 2eter/ann and Mu!grave @ange!& The +luru 7rko!e andMount Currie Conglo/erate are the product! of thi! ero!ion> being depo!ited in !eparate !o3called alluvial fan! JFigure 47K&Though unifor/itarian J!lo%3and3gradualK geologi!t! believe the arko!e and conglo/erate %ere depo!ited relativelyrapidly5> they !till allo% up to layer upon layer of arko!e and conglo/erate accu/ulated re!pectively&y about iti! clai/ed> the region %a! again covered by a !hallo% !ea and the alluvial fan! of +luru 7rko!e and Mount CurrieConglo/erate %ere gradually buried beneath layer! of !and> !ilt> /ud and li/e!tone JFigure 4K& Then about 4(( /illionyear! ago a ne% period of folding> faulting and uplift began and !uppo!edly continued for around '(( /illion year!& Thelayer! of +luru 7rko!e and Mount Currie Conglo/erate> %hich had been buried by hundred! or even thou!and! of /etre! of younger 7/adeu! a!in !edi/ent!> %ere !trongly folded and faulted JFigure 4CK& The originally horiontal +luru 7rko!elayer! %ere rotated into a nearly vertical po!ition> %hile the Mount Currie Conglo/erate at ,ata T-uta %a! only tilted '('1Y&At i! thu! believed that the +luru3,ata T-uta area ha!probably re/ained above !ea3level !ince that ti/efor !o/e :(( /illion year!& Anitially the land !urface %ouldhave been /uch higher than the top of +luru and ,ataT-uta> but a! ero!ion continued> today5! !hape! of +luruand ,ata T-uta %ere gradually carved out JFigure 4$K&y #( /illion year! ago the area %a! covered in fore!t!indicating a very %et> tropical environ/ent& Today5! aridcli/ate and de!ert !and! have only developed !ince thevery recent ice age5> a fe% thou!and year! ago&N!A )&$t #atat)!h%# *'!!( !)%.%$F%.")& ;5 The likely geological hi!tory or !eIuence of event! leading to the for/ation of ,ata T-uta and +luru

Jirre!pective of any evolutionary a!!u/ption!K&A5 The Zalluvial fan!Z of Mount Currie Conglo/erate JleftredK and +luru 7rko!e Jrightyello%K depo!ited on aba!e/ent of folded and eroded earlier !edi/ent!JorangeK and granite! Jgrey3greenK&B5 The Mount Currie Conglo/erate and +luru 7rko!eare buried by other !edi/ent! JblueK&C5 The !edi/ent layer! are folded> faulted> tilted and

F%.")& 95 Cro!!3!ection through +luru !ho%ing the tilted layer! of arko!e continuing under the !urrounding de!ert !and&

F%.")& :5 Cro!!3!ection through ,ata T-uta !ho%ing the !lightly tilted layer! of Mount Currie Conglo/erate&

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then eroded&D5 Further ero!ion lo%er! the ground !urface !till /ore and carve! out ,ata T-uta and +luru a! they are today&Bo% that all!ound! like an intere!ting !tory> but in fact> the evidence in the!e rock layer! doe!n5t agree %ith it; 7t +luru particularly> theubiIuitou! fre!h feld!par cry!tal! in the arko!e %ould never have !urvived the clai/ed /illion! of year!& Feld!par break!do%n %hen expo!ed to the !un5! heat> %ater> and air Je&g&> in a hu/id tropical cli/ateK> and relatively Iuickly for/! clay!& Af the arko!e %a! depo!ited a! !heet! of !and only centi/etre! Jan inch or t%oK thick !pread over /any ten! of !Iuarekilo/etre! to dry in the !un5! heat over countle!! thou!and! of year!> then the feld!par cry!tal! %ould have deco/po!ed toclay!& ike%i!e> if the arko!e had been expo!ed to the de!tructive force! of ero!ion and tropical deep che/ical %eatheringeven for -u!t a fe% /illion year!> a! i! clai/ed> then the feld!par cry!tal! %ould have long ago deco/po!ed to clay!& Either %ay> the !and!tone fabric %ould have beco/e %eakened and then collap!ed> a! the clay! and re/aining unbound /ineralgrain! %ould have ea!ily di!integrated and been entirely %a!hed a%ay> leaving no +luru at all;Further/ore> !and grain!%hich are /oved over long di!tance! and periodically !%ept further and further over va!t eon! of ti/e %ould lo!e their

-agged edge!> beco/ing !/ooth and rounded& 7t the !a/e ti/e> the !a/e !and grain! being acted upon by the /oving%ater over tho!e clai/ed long period! of ti/e !hould al!o be !ortedL the !/aller grain! are carried /ore ea!ily by %ater> !o%ould be !eparated fro/ the larger grain!& Thu! if the +luru 7rko!e had taken /illion! of year! to accu/ulate a!evolutionary geologi!t! clai/> then the rock today !hould have layer! of either !/all or large grain!& 0o fre!h> !hiny feld!par cry!tal! and -agged> un!orted grain! today all indicate that the +luru 7rko!e accu/ulated !o rapidly the feld!par did nothave enough ti/e to deco/po!e> nor the grain! to be rounded and !orted&What of the Mount Currie Conglo/erate? Evengeologi!t! %ho believe in !lo%3and3gradual !edi/entation over /illion! of year! have to ad/it that the %ater! %hich carried!uch large boulder! J!o/e over '&< /etre! or five feet acro!!K had to be a !%iftly3flo%ing> raging torrent&0uch cata!trophiccondition! %ould al!o need to be %ide!pread in order to erode !uch a variety of rock type! fro/ the large /ountainou!!ource region> and to produce the re!ultant /ixture of particle !ie!fro/ /ud Jpulveried rockK and !ilt to pebble!>cobble!> and boulder! %hich> becau!e of their !ie> %ere al!o rounded and !/oothed by the violence of their rapid tran!portover ten! of kilo/etre!&7ll thi! evidence i! far /ore con!i!tent %ith recent cata!trophic depo!ition of the arko!e andconglo/erate under raging flood condition!& An the expo!ure! at +luru and ,ata T-uta re!pectively> the rock co/po!ition!and fabric! are unifor/ly !i/ilar throughout J*&< kilo/etre! or '&6 /ile! thick in the ca!e of +luruK and the layering

extre/ely regular and parallel& Af depo!ition had been epi!odic over /illion! of year!> there ought to be evidence of ero!ionJe&g&> channel!K and %eathering !urface! bet%een layer!> %hile !o/e co/po!itional and fabric variation! %ould beexpected&Sta..&)%$.

The i/plication! are ab!olutely !taggering& Dne only ha! to con!ider the a/ount and force of %ater needed to du/p !o/e 6>((( /etre! Jal/o!t *(>((( feetK thickne!! of !and> and a!i/ilar thickne!! of pebble!> cobble!> boulder!> etc&> probably in a /atter of hour!> after having tran!ported the!e !edi/ent! /any ten! of kilo/etre!> to reali!e that !uch an eventhad to be a cata!trophic flood& 7nd thi! trau/atic event had to be recent> other%i!e thefeld!par cry!tal! in the arko!e %ould not be a! fre!h Jun%eatheredK a! they are today&The+luru 7rko!e a! !een under a geological /icro!cope& Bote the /ixture! of grain !ie! andthe -agged edge! of the grain!&0ince the layer! of arko!e and conglo/erate are no% tilted>the arko!e al/o!t vertically> it i! al!o obviou! that after being depo!ited the!e !edi/ent layer!%ere co/pre!!ed and began to be ce/ented JhardenedK %hile !till %ater3!aturated> and thenpu!hed up by earth /ove/ent!& Tho!e expert! in land!cape3for/ing proce!!e!> %ho have

inten!ively !tudied +luru> ,ata T-uta> and other Central 7u!tralian landfor/!> are convincedthat the!e !hape! %ere carved out by %ater ero!ion in a hot> hu/id tropical cli/ate> and not by %ind ero!ion a! in today5!dry de!ert cli/ate&Thi! i! ea!ily explained if the /odern landfor/! of +luru and ,ata T-uta developed a! the !a/ecata!trophic flood %ater!> %hich du/ped the arko!e and conglo/erate in the va!t depre!!ion they occupied> began toretreat a%ay fro/ the e/erging land !urface of ri!ing> tilted layer!> eroding the !till relatively !oft !edi/ent! to leave behindthe !hape! of +luru and ,ata T-uta& Follo%ing the retreat of tho!e flood %ater! fro/ the 7u!tralian continent> the land!capebegan to dry out& The che/ical! in the %ater !till trapped bet%een grain! of !and> pebble!> boulder!> etc& continued to for/a binding and hardening /aterial !i/ilar to ce/ent in concrete&C!$#'"%!$The evidence overall doe! not fit the !tory of evolutionary geologi!t!> %ith it! /illion! of year! of !lo%3and3gradualproce!!e!& An!tead> the evidence in the rock layer! at +luru and ,ata T-uta i! /uch /ore con!i!tent %ith the !cientific /odelba!ed on a recent> rapid> /a!!ive> cata!trophic flood& +luru and ,ata T-uta are therefore !tark te!ti/ony to the raging%ater! of the global Flood&

Ma$3 a)#h& a$( $at")a' )%(.& '%8&'3 *)!/ th& F'!!(%y Michael J. Oard

Free!tanding rock arche! and large natural bridge! are ob!erved to collap!e today> !uch a! Wall 7rch in 7rche! Bational2ark in early 7ugu!t *((1& The for/ation of large arche! and natural bridge! fro/ !lo% %eathering and ero!ion %ould taketen! of thou!and of year!& 9o%ever> the unifor/itarian hypothe!e! for their origin are not ob!erved& 7 rapid proce!! of ero!ion in the pa!t con!i!tent %ith the @etreating 0tage of the Flood i! /ore likely&

F%.")& 65 ocation of Wall 7rch after collap!e&Dne of the /o!t photographed free !tanding arche! in 7rche!Bational 2ark> Wall 7rch> in !outhea!t +tah> +07> collap!ed!o/eti/e late Monday or early Tue!day of 7ugu!t 4 th and *((1Jfigure 'K& Bo one reported !eeing it collap!e& The arch i! locatedalong the popular $evil! Garden Trail and %a! /ore than '( / J:: ftKtall and !panned ** / J#' ftK acro!! before collap!e Jfigure *K& At %a!the '*th large!t arch of the e!ti/ated *>((( arche! in 7rche! Bational2ark& The collap!e of !uch arche! provide! evidence that long free!tanding arche! and /any tall natural bridge! likely for/ed rapidlyduring the Flood&

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R!#8 a)#h& 7rche! co/e in all !ie!& They range fro/ and!cape 7rch in 7rche!Bational 2ark> the longe!t in the %orld> %ith a !pan of 11 / J*8( ftK to!/all hole!& The large one! are high enough to contain the Capitolbuilding in Wa!hington $&C& The !/all hole! are called %indo%! inryce Canyon Bational 2ark Jfigure :K& 0uch %indo%! could for/rapidly by %eathering of the !oft !trata&F%.")& 95 Wall 7rch before the collap!e&Mo!t free !tanding rock arche! are believed to have for/ed without stream erosion& 7lthough an arch i! !i/ilar to a natural bridge> itdiffer! fro/ a natural bridge becau!e it doe! not !pan a valley for/ed

by ero!ion& @ock arche! can be on ridges or the sides of a ridge&@ock arche! are believed to for/ !lo%ly over long period! of ti/e byphy!ical and che/ical %eathering& Four !tep! are propo!ed. J'K upliftthat cau!e! deep vertical> parallel fracture! to for/L J*K %eatheringand ero!ion that enlarge fracture! re!ulting in narro% %all! or fin!5LJ:K continuing ero!ion %ith !o/e fin! breached fro/ belo%L and J4Kcontinued %eathering that enlarge! the hole! and eventually cau!e!the arch to collap!e&'At i! a!!u/ed that it take! a long ti/e to for/ anarch& Geologi!t! e!ti/ate that it %ould have taken #(>((( year! of %ater> fro!t and %ind operating in a dry cli/ate to for/ the i!olated$elicate 7rch in 7rche! Bational 2ark Jfigure 4K&' Bearly all the arche!in !outhea!t +tah for/ed in only t%o !pecific !and!tone for/ation! inthe area&*

Nat")a' )%(.&

F%.")& :5 Windo%! in a fin5> ryce Canyon Bational 2ark fro/ near Mo!!y Cave Trail&Batural bridge! %ere for/ed by running %ater and co/e in /any!ie!& 0o/e of the large!t and /o!t i/pre!!ive natural bridge! in the%orld are located in !outhea!t +tah& Batural ridge! BationalMonu/ent boa!t! three of the ten large!t natural bridge! in the %orld

and they are a!!ociated %ith White and 7r/!trong Canyon!& Their na/e! have changed %ith the political %ind& 0ipapuBatural ridge i! 6# / J**( ftK high and 1* / J*61 ftK %ide Jfigure located onake 2o%ell in northern 7riona&:Dne of the /o!t fa/ou! i! Batural ridge> irginia> about t%o /ile! ea!t of Anter!tate 1'Jfigure 6K& The opening under thi! natural bridge i! about 6( / J*(( ftK above Cedar Creek that flo%! underneath& 4 +&0&9igh%ay '' cro!!e! the top of thi! natural bridge&Cleland

!outh of ig Ti/ber> Montana> %a! for/ed by li/e!tone di!!olutionA"/&( "$%*!)/%ta)%a$ !)%.%$ $!t !&)4&(

F%.")& ;5 $elicate 7rch> 7rche! Bational 2ark& +nifor/itariangeologi!t! e!ti/ate that thi! arch took #(>((( year! to for/ but rapidero!ion by retreating flood%ater! during the Flood %ould have carvedthe arch Iuickly&The origin of free !tanding arche! Ja! oppo!ed to %indo%!K and thelarger natural bridge! i! /y!teriou!& The explanation! in the literaturea!!u/e !lo% proce!!e! of ero!ion over ten! of thou!and! of year!>according to the principle of unifor/itariani!/& The proble/ %ith that/uch ti/e i! that the bridge or arch !hould have weathered and collapsed long before the /aterial around it %a! able to erode andleave behind an arch or natural bridge& Crick/ay noted that natural

bridge! !ee/ to defy unifor/itariani!/.>?hat is remarka%le a%out its @natural %ridgeA history is that, in all thetime re:uired for the stream currents to corrade downward and laterally through a vertical depth of from 7 to B or 67 m inresistant rock, the progress made %y >denudation$ toward destroying the fragile-looking %ridge appears to have %een virtuallynil 4a discrepancy in rates of action that may e&ceed 77,777 to @emphasis addedA.$

0ince natural bridge! have !trea/! or !trea/ channel! belo% the/ and arche! do not> Crick/ay5! ob!ervation applie! even/ore !o to rock arche!& 0uch a di!crepancy in ero!ion /ake! little !en!e and i/plie! rapid formation of /o!t free !tandingrock arche! and large natural bridge!&0o/e geologi!t! !ugge!t that the ero!ion of a le!! re!i!tant rock underneath a /orere!i!tant rock cau!e! the arche!> but !uch a /echani!/ can account for fe% arche!> at be!t& 8 Dther hypothe!ied/echani!/! are no /ore likely& Cruik!hank and 7ydin'( !u//aried.

F%.")& Batural ridge Bational Monu/ent> !outhea!t+tah> +07&There i! no need to invoke rea!on! !uch a! %eak ce/ent> unloading> or exfoliation to explain the pre!ence of arche!> e!pecially %hen the!e proce!!e!act on !i/ilar rock! in nearby region! %ithout producing the !a/e abundance of arche!&5Cruik!hank and 7ydin8 hypothe!ied that the /a-ority of arche! arecau!ed by local enhance/ent of ero!ion by fracture concentration5> %hich theyhave identified in /any arche!& Why %a! !uch an obviou! /echani!/5!o/eho% /i!!ed by previou! inve!tigator!? 9o%ever> no one has seen an archform %y this mechanism.Thu!> long free3!tanding arche! do not !ee/ to befor/ing today in 7rche! Bational 2arkL in other %ord! !tage three and early four

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are not ob!erved& 7nd> like Wall 7rch> %e do ob!erve late !tage 4> their collap!e& 7 portion of and!cape 7rch in 7rche!Bational 2ark collap!ed in the '84(!& 0ince '88'> three large !lab! of !and!tone /ea!uring 8> '4 and *' / long have been%itne!!ed collap!ing fro/ the thinne!t !ection of and!cape 7rch& The longe!t arch in the %orld %ill likely be gone !oon;The natural bridge acro!! the oulder @iver in Montana collap!ed in '818& An '88'> an arch off 2oint Ca/pbell> %e!ternictoria> 7u!tralia> collap!ed&''0ince %e ob!erve the de!truction of large free!tanding arche! and natural bridge!> but nottheir for/ation> the origin of the!e feature! occurred in the pa!t by proce!!e! not ob!erved today> like !o /any a!pect! of geo/orphology&'* An other %ord!> large free!tanding arche! and natural bridge! are relic and likely for/ed by !o/e/echani!/ in the pa!t that cau!ed Iuick ero!ion to !pecific location!& The Flood provide! a likely /echani!/ for /any of the/&A 'at&-F'!!( /ha$%/

F%.")& =5 Batural ridge> irginia> +07&An the Flood paradig/> /o!t of the small natural bridge! and arche! could have

for/ed after the Flood by ero!ion& 0ince !o/e of the !/all bridge! are located inglaciated area!># and !ince the!e natural bridge! could not !urvive glaciation>they /u!t have for/ed after the Ace 7ge& Further/ore> the !ugge!ted /echani!/!for their for/ation are rea!onable expectation! of po!t3Flood %eathering andero!ion&9o%ever> the large natural bridge! and practically all the free !tandingarche! reIuire too /uch ti/e to for/ in thi! /anner during the po!t3Flood period&Ero!ion by nor/al %eathering proce!!e! during the for/ation of large naturalbridge! and arche! !hould have de!troyed the!e feature! long before erodingdo%n to their pre!ent level!& arge natural bridge! and arche! i/ply /ore rapidero!ionthe type of ero!ion that %ould have occurred during the @etreating 0tageof the Flood&'*>': 7rche! %ould have for/ed during either the 0heet3flo% or Channelied3flo% 2ha!e of the @etreating 0tage> %hile natural bridge! probablyfor/ed during the Channelied 2ha!e&Willia/!4 attributed Batural ridge> irginia>to ero!ion during Flood runoff& 0ince the natural bridge i! located in kar!t country

%ith abundant cave!> he concluded that thi! unu!ual feature repre!ent! a re/nantof a collap!ed cave %ith the debri! fro/ the collap!e co/pletely %a!hed out of the area& Batural Tunnel in extre/e!outh%e!t irginia al!o provide! evidence for Flood excavation in kar!t land> but in thi! ca!e a larger !ection of the tunnelroof re/ained in place&'4The ti/ing of arch and natural3bridge for/ation in the !pecialied condition! of the late3Flood periodi! e!pecially co/pelling %hen %e re/e/ber that large natural bridge! and arche! are not for/ing today& 7rche! are!i/ply assumed to for/ by /ore rapid %eathering at the ba!e of a fin& ' !uch differential ero!ion and archfor/ation i! !peculation.>rch formation cannot %e due solely to weathering and erosion, however, %ecause these processes are not restricted to thesites of arches in rock fins. There must %e some factor that locally enhances the effects of erosion within a rather small part of a rock fin to produce an arch. 5ow erosion is localied within a rock fin to form an arch is enigmatic.$ 6

@iver! and !trea/! can be eli/inated a! potential agent! of local arch for/ation> by definition of a rock arch& The arche! in 7rche! Bational 2ark are pre!erved on an anticlinea ridge pu!hed up by a ri!ing !alt do/e&'# 7lthough the !pecialiedcondition! that /ight have for/ed arche! and natural bridge! %ere pre!ent in the late3Flood period> the proce!! ha! notbeen ob!erved and %e /u!t rely on inference& @apid do%ncutting by flood%ater during late Flood ero!ion> either over a higharea or during the for/ation of an inci!ed valley> could have undercut le!! re!i!tant rock> breaking through underneath a

/ore re!i!tant layer& Dr> po!!ibly /echanical ero!ion fro/ the flood%ater %a! concentrated lo%er do%n on the rock !urface>eventually cutting a hole& The bridge! in Batural ridge! Bational Monu/ent could have for/ed at the very end of the Flood%hen the la!t ve!tige! of the Flood %ere extre/ely channelied& The for/ation of Batural ridge and Batural Tunnel>irginia> by the rapid ero!ion of cave! in li/e!tone'13*' follo%ed by Flood ero!ion of the roof !ee/! like a viable hypothe!i!&At could be that !o/e of the unifor/itarian !ugge!tion!> !uch a! a different lithology> %eaker ce/enting of the !and> andlocal fracture concentration> in co/bination %ith cata!trophic flo% during Flood runoff> cau!ed the arche! of 7rche! Bational2ark and el!e%here&

Th)&& S%t&)@ &4%(&$#& *!) G'!a' F'!!(Getting to kno% the three !i!ter! reveal! /ore than -u!t natural beauty

%y Tas Walker

Each year> /illion! of touri!t! vi!it ,atoo/ba> a city one hour5! drive %e!t of 0ydney> 7u!tralia5! bigge!t city& There they en-oy the !pectacular Three

0i!ter!& The!e ladie!5 are not a group of perfor/er!> but a huge rockoutcrop& 0et in a World 9eritage 7rea of the lue Mountain!> the 0i!ter! areno% !o/ething of an 7u!tralian icon&Bear the lookout at Echo 2oint> the0i!ter! %atch over an i/pre!!ive valley& Dn a clear day> ,ing! Tablelandloo/! in the di!tance J!ee panora/a> leftK& Throughout the day> the vi!taalter! a! the changing !unlight tran!for/! the /agnificent colour! of theThree 0i!ter!& 7t night> their floodlit !hape look! !tunning again!t theblackne!! of the night !ky&Mo!t vi!itor! don5t realie they are looking atco/pelling evidence for the global Flood &

F%.")& 6. Many geologi!t! con!ider the 0ydney a!in JpinkK i! connected to large> long !edi/entary ba!in! Jlighter pinkK tothe north& Thi! !edi/entary net%ork i! over *>((( k/ J'>*(( /ile!K long and contain! rich depo!it! of coal and ga!> theproduct! of buried vegetation& Dverlaying !edi/ent! have been o/itted fro/ the figure&The !and!tone> of %hich the 0i!ter! are /ade> point! to huge %atery depo!ition& The valley! and gorge!> !haped %hen the0i!ter! %ere carved> are evidence of i//en!e %atery ero!ion& The global Flood explain! thi! depo!ition and ero!ion& et5!look a bit clo!er&At5! not difficult to appreciate that the !and!tone cover! an i//en!e area& Fro/ the lookout> %e can !ee thatthe !a/e rock! for/ !teep cliff! all around the gorge& efore the /agnificent valley %a! eroded> the !and!tone !tratacovered a large area&

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