This topic had not been investigated at the time of our primary science details page and so this is a supplement to that page.

• Do you believe that Africa and South America were once joined at their coastlines?
• Do you believe that it is possible that early after the Earth was formed, that much of the surface was covered with water?
• Do you believe that at different times during Earth’s history, tectonic plate movement could have caused the highest mountains to be higher than the highest one today and at other times the highest mountain would be shorter than the highest one today?
• Do you believe that there may be more water under the Earth’s surface than in all the oceans put together?

Science believes these things.  We tend to look at things as they are today, but we need to realize that the earth has gone through some very major changes in history.  Many of those changes have been gradual changes over time.  But, it is completely reasonable to believe that there have also been some large and sudden changes too.

There was a diatomaceous earth (and other minerals) surface mining area on Mt Shasta in California that covered hundreds of acres.  It is easy to say that trillions of diatoms came to their deaths on Mt Shasta.  But how did they get there?  A process of Mt Shasta being created by a slow movement of tectonic plates doesn’t make sense for a huge and dense graveyard of marine life on a mountain.  Something much more abrupt is needed for that to happen.

If you could see our atmosphere from outer space, it would look like a very, very thin layer on earth.  Most of it is only about 20 miles (32km) deep and a small amount is in another 40-50 miles (total of about 100km).  But the earth is nearly 8,000 miles (a little under 13,000km) wide.  Mt Everest is only about 5.5 miles (almost 9km) tall.  So, if tectonic plate movement could move Africa more than 1,700 miles (over 2,800km) from South America, how easy could it create Mt Everest.

The real question is if tectonic plate movement has ALWAYS been gradual or if there may have been at least one or two large “relatively” sudden movements of these plates sometime in history.

Science believes that there may be several times more water under the earth’s surface than all the oceans combined.  It is contained in a variety of conditions ranging all the way from underground reservoirs to locked within the rocks and minerals that are part of our earth’s mantle.

What if there was a time in earth’s history where mountains had not yet pushed up significantly and there was a rather sudden and large plate movement that released vast amounts of water from below the surface because is was still mostly in reservoirs. It could have been very easy to cover the surface of the earth in those conditions.  Then a related (soon after) movement opened up for much of that water to get trapped back under the land surface with some of it under great pressure.  Other plate movements could have had varying degrees of movement over earth’s history and created what we see today with tall mountains.

The Bible describes two sources of water causing the flood.  Rain and waters from the deep.  The wording sounds like most of the water came from under the earth’s surface.  Genesis 7:11-12 says “… on that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.  And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”

From what we know about earth and it’s history, the Bible account of The Flood is entirely plausible.  We have no way of proving or disproving it, but it is plausible.