Development of the Geological Model

© Tas Walker  May 05

What would we expect to find?

To develop the geological model we will consider the historical record from the book of Genesis in the Bible. Drawing on our understanding of geological processes we will think about the text from a geological point of view. In particular we will ask the question "What would we expect to find?" In this way we will explore in detail:

The Creation Event

The figure details a geological model of the Creation event as recorded in the Bible. The time-scale is to the left and the corresponding rock-scale to the right. The earliest time is at the bottom of the figure. The model is derived by exploring the biblical narrative in Genesis 1 from a geological point of view with the question "What would we expect to find?"

Day 1 The first creative act is the most geologically significant, involving the creation of the earth on the first day (Gen 1:1-2). Hebrews 11:3 indicates that the earth was created out of nothing. We do not know the processes involved in this action because Genesis 2:1-3 indicates that the creative process is finished, and therefore not observable today.

For our model we assume that the initial creative action occurred instantaneously at the beginning of the first day, and that on completion the solid spherical Earth was in place. The form of this sphere, whether homogeneous or differentiated is not here proposed. However it is noted that this sphere was initially covered with water until dry land appeared on the third day.

In the model the first creative act which founded the earth is called the Foundational action and the rocks resulting from this action are called Original rocks. It is envisaged that the waters would have contained minerals in solution, or in suspension. It is reasonable to assume that the material in solution would precipitate, and the material in suspension would settle with time. Rocks formed in this way have been termed Ensuing - that is rocks which quickly followed on over the next two days. These two types of rock are shown in the figure and were formed during what is called the Foundational stage of the Creation event - the stage covering Day 1 and Day 2.

Day 2 The sky was created on the second day. It is not envisaged that this act would produce any significant geologic effects at this time.

Day 3 On Day 3 the waters covering the earth were gathered together into one place and dry land appeared. If this gathering was brought about by tectonic movements of the Earth's surface causing the overlying waters to flow over the surface, then this act would have been significant geologically.

For our model as shown in the figure the gathering of the waters to form the ocean basins and the dry land is called the Formative action. This action marks the beginning of the Formative stage of the Creation event, lasting from the beginning of Day 3 until the end of Day 6. It is reasonable to expect that material would have been eroded and redeposited as a consequence of this action. The rocks so formed are called Derivative because they were derived from the Ensuing and Original rocks.

After the Formative action the dry land produced all kinds of vegetation, seed bearing plants, and trees with fruit. Note that vegetation was created after the Foundational and Formative actions. Although I assume that plankton and other microscopic sea life were created on Day 5, such life may have been created on Day 3. The possible significance on rock characteristics is discussed under Day 5.

Day 4 The sun, moon and stars were created on Day 4. It is not considered that these events would have produced any significant geologic effects.

Day 5 All the creatures that fill the water, and the birds of the air were created on Day 5. An interesting possibility arises in relation to the geologic significance of plankton and other tiny sea life. After they were created, some of this life may have become trapped in rocks forming in the oceans. To allow for this possibility the model includes a category designated Biotic for rocks formed during this period. The solid time-rock transformation arrow shown in the figure assumes the tiny sea life was created on Day 5 with the other ocean life. The dotted arrow indicates the possibility that this tiny sea life was created on Day 3 with the vegetation. Whether this life was created on Day 3 or Day 5 does not affect the form of the model.

Apart from the tiny sea life, it is not proposed that any other Day 5 creative actions produced significant geologic effects at this time.

Day 6 Animals and man were created on Day 6. It is not proposed that these events produced any significant geologic effects at this time. Day 6 marks the end of the Formative stage of the Creation event.

The Lost-World Era

I have called the 1700 year period between the Creation and Flood events the Lost-World era. Other workers use the term pre-flood or antediluvian to refer to the time before the Flood but it is not clear whether these terms include the Creation event or not. At the end of the Creation event the Earth possessed a perfectly habitable environment and every kind of life ever created was present at this time.

It is likely that geologic processes during the Lost-World era would have been less intense than today. Even if the intensity were the same, not much of geological significance would have occurred in the time available. In addition, much of what was deposited during this era would have been destroyed by the Flood. Rocks formed during this time have been called Lost-World rocks. Additional classifications are not included at this stage but could be inserted if the a need were identified after the model is applied to the rocks in the field. The relationship between the Lost-World rocks and the biblical time-scale is of a long period of time transforming into a small quantity of rock.

The Flood Event

Because the Flood event is so meticulously recorded in the Bible a detailed chronology can be developed. The record is tied to the age of Noah who was in his 600th year when the Flood began. The text indicates that a month consisted of 30 days (Gen 8:3-4 and 7:11). The time-scale of the Flood event is shown in the figure with the earliest time at the bottom of the page. Full details of the chronology are as shown in the table below. The total duration of the Flood event was a little over one year.

The two stages of the Flood event

Geologically two stages are of significance. The first stage, during which the waters "rose and increased greatly" until the whole earth was covered (Gen 7:18), is called the Inundatory stage. The second stage during which the waters receded from the earth (Gen 8:3,5) is designated the Recessive stage.

The Inundatory Stage

The description "the springs of the great deep burst forth" (Gen 7:11) is taken to mean an intense world-wide geologic disturbance which initiated the Flood. This is shown on the figure as the Eruptive action. Similarly the "springs of the great deep being closed" (Gen 8:2) is assumed to mean an intense world-wide disturbance which started the waters receding from the land and is called the Abative action. Although these disturbances are indicated as a single act on the figure it is possible that a sequence of tectonic activity was involved lasting for weeks or months.

The duration of the Inundatory stage is not entirely clear. If the stopping of "the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven" (Gen 8:2 AV) occurred after 150 days (Gen 7:24) then the Inundatory stage would have been about 150 days long and the Recessive stage about 220 days. Alternatively, from Genesis 7:12 and 17 the duration of the Inundatory stage can be equated to the 40 days that the "rain fell" and "the flood kept coming on the earth." In this case the Abative action would have occurred soon after the 40 days and Genesis 8:2 would be a reference back to when "the springs of the deep and the floodgates of heaven had been closed" (New International Version). Therefore the Inundatory stage could have been about 40 days long and Recessive stage about 300 days. If the Inundatory stage was significantly shorter than the Recessive stage then the intensity of geological processes and the corresponding quantities of rock material deposited may well have been greater than occurred during the Recessive stage.

The figure is drawn assuming an Inundatory stage a little longer than 40 days - arbitrarily shown as 60 days to allow time for the Flood to peak. Although these figures would need to be modified if the Inundatory stage were 150 days long, the validity of the model would not be affected.

As shown in the figure, three phases have been assigned to the Inundatory stage, mainly to provide for the quantity of material assumed to be deposited at this time. No particular conditions are obvious from the Bible text to suggest distinctive boundaries between these three phases. Such criteria will need to be formulated as the model is applied in the field. The three phases assigned are:

Eruptive Eruptive rocks were formed following the Eruptive action which involved the bursting forth of the springs of the deep (Gen 7:11), the opening of the floodgates of heaven (Gen 7:11), and rain falling on the earth (Gen 7:12).

Ascending Ascending rocks were formed as the rain continued and the waters rose upon the surface of the earth (Gen 7:10).

Zenithic Zenithic rocks were formed as the waters continued to rise to their highest point when all the earth was covered (Gen 7:20).

The Recessive Stage

Two phases are designated for the Recessive stage as indicated in the figure:

Abative Abative rocks were formed following the Abative action when the springs of the deep (Gen 8:2), and the floodgates of heaven (Gen 8:2) closed, and after the rain ceased (Gen 8:2). During this phase the waters covering the earth receded in sheets from the earth (Gen 8:3).

Dispersive Dispersive rocks were formed as the Recessive stage continued and the flow divided into separate water courses. The flow of water during the Dispersive Phase would steadily reduce in intensity until the land was dry (Gen 8:14).

The New-World Era

The period of time since the Flood event is called the New-World era. The adjacent figure shows the time-line for this era and the corresponding rock-line. For convenience two phases are included:

Residual A phase with relatively high levels of tectonic and volcanic activity as a result of residual effects from the Flood. The duration of this phase is shown arbitrarily as 300 years but needs to be better defined by observable criteria in the rocks. The processes occurring during this phase would be different in intensity from what is observed today and may also be different in nature. For example, Oard¹ has proposed that the ice ages developed immediately after the Flood and persisted for some 600 years.

Modern A phase of stable and relatively minor geologic processes of a similar scale of intensity as experienced today lasting approximately 4000 years.

Reference

1. Oard, M. J. 1986. An ice age within the biblical time frame. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism. Vol. II. R. E. Walsh (ed.). Creation Science Fellowship. Pittsburgh. pp. 157-166.

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