The Genesis Flood for Kids
Multiple layers formed quickly
Published in Creation 46(1):32–35, 2023
In the previous articles, we learned about continent-wide rock layers containing fossils. They form a monument to the globe-covering Flood taught in Genesis 6–8.
The evidence is so strong that many geologists who deny Noah’s Flood agree that huge floods happened in the past. However, they claim there were millions of years between these floods. That is, they admit that each vast fossil-containing rock layer formed quickly, but say there were long ages between the layers.
But as we will see, many features show that there was very little time between the layers.
Flat Surfaces
Let’s go back to the rim of the Grand Canyon, mentioned in the last article. There you see lots of flat rock layers. But then, look at the top surface. It is so rough and jagged. It has been exposed to the weather for so long that the surface has eroded.
What a contrast between the top surface and the other layers underneath it! If there really had been millions of years between them, then the tops of each of the layers would also have been eroded. So they would look rough and jagged as well.
Folded layers
Have you tried bending a piece of rock? Even if you were strong enough, it would break, not bend. However, all around the world, there are sharply folded piles of rock layers. How could they fold without breaking?
Answer: they were not yet hard when they were folded. The layers were still soft after water laid them down—they had no time to harden.
Vertical rock structures
Furthermore, sometimes rock layers have vertical (upright) rock structures cutting through them. The vertical structures are made of sedimentary rock formed by a mixture of water and sediments. While lots of layers were still soft, the weight of the layers above squeezed the bottom layer very hard. Sometimes the muddy material would be forced up through cracks in the layers. When this hardens, it forms clastic dykes. Or, if there is hot molten magma nearby, the water could boil and push the material through the layers. After hardening, it forms a fluidization pipe. Both dykes and pipes show that none of the layers had time to harden.
Fossils across several layers of rocks
As explained in a previous issue, fossils must be formed quickly. Otherwise, the creature would rot away or be scavenged rather than become a fossil. This includes trees. Wood is a good building material, but it breaks down if not protected.
However, all over the world, there are tree trunk fossils that cut through many rock layers. They are called polystrate (polys is Greek for ‘many’; stratum is Latin for layer). What would we expect if the layers were really millions or even thousands of years apart? While the bottom of the tree was fossilizing, the top part would rot away. Possible? Not likely! Rather, all the layers must have buried the tree in a short time before any of it could rot away.
Fossil footprints
If you left a footprint outside or on the beach, how long do you think it would last? Millions of years? One year? A week? Probably not even a few days! However, many rock layers around the world have footprints on them. Others have raindrop and ripple marks. If these had been exposed for even a relatively short time, such marks would have been totally eroded, well before the layer could turn to stone. Instead, the next layer must have been quickly deposited very soon after, protecting the prints from erosion.
One example is a fossil dinosaur trackway in Lark Quarry, Queensland, Australia. This trackway has over 3,000 dinosaur footprints. But they were not discovered until the 1960s. Scientists and volunteers removed over 60 tonnes of rock and exposed about 210 m2 (2,260 sq ft) of rock. But as soon as the protecting rock layers had gone, the footprints started eroding. Yet they were in hard rock, not the soft surface in which the prints must have been made. Even a sheltering roof didn’t stop the erosion. Now they are in a conservation building, where temperature and humidity are controlled. And the authorities stop water, people, and animals from running over them. Again, how could the prints have survived being exposed if there really was a long time between layers?
Many fine layers formed at once
The long-age ideas do not come from observations. We can observe a rock face with many fine layers. Flood-denying geologists might assume one or maybe two layers could form every year. So, they claim, many layers = many year But they didn’t see this.
In the last 50 years or so, scientists have observed layers forming in their laboratories. And their observations contradicted the assumptions. They mixed water with sand and fine particles to make a muddy slurry. Then they let the slurry flow in a large artificial channel, called a flume. They found that the slurry often sorted itself into alternating layers—mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, etc.
Thus, the layers formed at about the same time, not years apart. All it took was horizontal (sideways) flow and differently sized particles. Furthermore, the bigger the difference in particle size, the thicker the layers. The speed of the slurry made no difference. This explains the evenness of the layers.
The Flood was catastrophic and global
This was no local Flood. Instead, the floodwaters kept rising until they covered all the mountains. And as the water flowed, it would keep depositing layer upon layer. Now the floodwaters are back in the oceans, but many of the layers remain. They are a silent witness to the Flood.
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