Google Earth graphically illustrates Noah’s Flood at Carnarvon Gorge

Here is a Google screen shot of the Carnarvon Gorge area that helps us picture what was happening as the floodwaters were receding.

The blue sea level is set at 880m asl, and clearly delineates the flatness of the Consuelo Tableland. Carnarvon Gorge is the embayment at the left of the image, containing a violet finger at 510m asl. The circle indicates a knickpoint¹ transition between two surfaces. The lower profile belongs to the red line drawn along Clematis Ridge. It is about 17 km long, and shows at least 5 water gaps along the way. The gap furthest to the left is the entrance to the gorge.

I think we will see in the future that Google maps and Google Earth will provide a great tool for geologic research! It’s the sort of thing that could be used with a school project. Students could easily investigate and publish (on a blog) original research into one of the multitude of amazing localities on Earth.

Note

1.   Knickpoint is a term in geomorphology to describe a location in a river or channel where there is a sharp change in channel slope, such as a waterfall or lake.