Where Did All The Water Go?

Biblegems #148

Question: A global flood covering the mountains by more than 20 feet as described in Genesis 7:19-20 would require steady, planet-wide rainfall at the rate of 6 inches per minute, 360 inches an hour, for 40 days and 40 nights, covering Mount Everest under 22 feet of water. How, exactly, did Noah measure this for the record? Where has all of the water gone since? And why is there no legitimate geological evidence of a global flood?

There are actually three questions here, and I will attempt to answer each one accurately as well as briefly.

The first question, how did Noah measure this, is the simplest. The very ancient practice of dropping a weighted rope over the side of a boat to the seabed below allowed sailors to then measure the length of rope immersed. This, of course, only allowed for measurements at the location of the vessel. For Noah, that meant measuring depths that likely covered what we now know as the areas of the ancient Near East and Turkey.

The second question, where has all the water gone, assumes (based upon the statistics in the question above) that the continent, mountains and oceans were pretty much the same in Noah’s day as now. That is a very inaccurate assumption. Recent studies have revealed that mid-oceanic ridges—mountain chains beneath all the oceans—were at one time only about 0.6 miles below the ocean waves. Today, those ridges are much deeper: approximately 1.8 miles below sea level. The cause behind this dramatic change is an abrupt shift in the earth’s tectonic plates caused by extreme heating of the Earth’s mantle—up to 300 degrees hotter than at present.[i] This over-heating triggered the break up of the pre-flood continent(s). It also pushed up the sub-ocean mountains, causing horrific earthquakes, multiple tsunamis and volcanoes. Ocean waters would have inundated the land-masses as the oceanic ridges pushed mountains of water away, adding to the torrent of rain falling for forty days.

Many of the mountain ranges we are familiar with today would have been created during this global upheaval. As the mantle began to cool off the ocean ridges would have dropped some. At the same time, new mountains of great height, such as the Alps, had been created as the continents crumpled and plowed into each other. Water would drain off of these into the newly shaped ocean basins. The Ice Age that followed carved many of the mountains, valleys and riverbeds that now shape our world.

That brings us to the third question— why is there no legitimate geological evidence of a global flood?

The question itself points to a bias that would render any answer unacceptable. The questioner assumes that any geological evidence favoring a biblical, creationist viewpoint is automatically illegitimate. 

Nevertheless, the evidence for a young earth is vast and overwhelmingly convincing. In this brief article alone several false assumptions have been exposed regarding the commonly taught theories of the age and formation of earth’s environments. A serious look at the geological, astronomical, hydrological and fossil evidence apart from these assumptions will reveal a young earth at the heart of a young universe whose origins, design and purpose testify to the accuracy of God’s revealed Word.

         Ps. 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Below I have listed some sources for those who would like to dig deeper into the abundance of evidence that is available.

For Further Research:

The Global Flood. Dr. John Morris

Clearly Seen, Dr. randy J. Guliuzza

The Fossil Record, Dr. John Morris and Frank J. Sherwin

The Book of Beginnings, vol. 1&2, Dr. Henry Morris lll

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[i] Sources: Brandall, P.A., et. al. 2013. High mantle temperatures following rifting caused by continental insulation. Nature Geoscience. 6 %0: 391-394.

  Langmuir, C. 2013. Older and hotter. Nature geoscience. 6 (5): 332-333.

  Clarey, Timoth, Ph.D., Hot Mantle Initiated Ocean and Flood Beginnings. Acts & Facts. 42 (8): 15.