Image from ICR article.
See the link for the entire photo of this closeup, and for a detailed sketch of the rock layers.
Posted on 10/01/2013 8:22:29 AM PDT by fishtank
Soft-Sediment Deformation: Recent Flood Evidence by John D. Morris, Ph.D. *
Years ago, Dr. Steve Austin and I wrote a technical article on tight folds in sedimentary rock as evidence for recent creation. The original article, which was awarded the best paper at the 1986 International Conference on Creationism, contained two studies, one of which is abridged here.1 The evidence we presented then is just as relevant today for showing that Earth’s geology clearly supports the biblical record.
Introduction
Evolutionists and creationists have different views on the origin of sedimentary rock strata. Evolutionists, who uphold the uniformitarian doctrine of 19th-century geologists, suppose that sediments were deposited slowly over millions of years and then hardened into sedimentary rock. This means that soft sediments, however they accumulated, would surely have lithified (hardened into rock) over excessively long periods of time. However, some of these rocks seem to demonstrate the opposite—these layers were clearly deformed before they had time to lithify.
Creationists who hold the catastrophist doctrine of Scripture propose that most sedimentary strata were deposited rapidly by Noah’s Flood. They may have undergone deformation soon thereafter, and the total time span of this process represents only thousands of years.
Stratigraphy
A spectacular exposure of a thick stratigraphic sequence (a group of rock layers) occurs at Split Mountain in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County, California.2, 3 The layers tilt at 20 degrees to the southwest and can easily be seen while driving by them laterally, with all 17,000 vertical feet in plain view. The sediments in these layers were rapidly deposited by moving water and later exposed by tilting and subsequent erosion.4
Tight folds in the strata clearly indicate that the tertiary sandstone remained in a non-lithified (soft) condition until faulted and folded in the late Pleistocene age several million years after deposition, according to conventional dating. Yet the conditions were ideal for the sediments to lithify (harden) much more quickly than these dates indicate—deep burial (under thousands of feet of sediment) would have consolidated the grains and provided a proper cement to bind them together. The fold geometry clearly indicates the strata were still in a soft, unlithified condition at the time of deformation!5, 6 This leads to the conclusion that deformation and subsequent hardening could not have happened as long ago as millions of years.
Evolutionists have failed to explain how millions of years could have passed while allowing this sedimentary sequence to escape lithification and remain in a soft state, despite deep burial. To justify the passing of so much time, they believe that the sediments were first lithified and then were tightly folded later. They claim that, when deeply buried, rocks can slowly deform extensively. But there is a limit to how much solid rock, notoriously weak under tension, can bend without breaking. And the outer half of each layer would undergo tension at every single bend, leading to breakage. As illustrated in the accompanying sketch and photograph, although these layers were bent excessively, there is no evidence of broken cement grains. Instead, it appears the strata flowed as mud or deformed plastically. All of this leads to the better interpretation that the Split Mountain formation deformed while still soft in a bending “event” rather than slow “creep.” It is clear that the vast ages assigned to the strata are mere assumptions and that the uniformitarian interpretation of the deformation is incorrect. The following images and captions explain what really happened.
Zone A: Overturned strata of marine sandstone. The force of impact from the down-drop of fault block G pushed horizontally against the unlithified sandstone, overturning the strata.
Zone B: Underturned strata of marine sandstone. Drag caused by the rapid fall of block F severely disrupted zones D and E and underturned the unlithified sandstone strata in B, producing this spectacular fold.
Zone C: Mushroom-like masses of sandstone intruded into the boulder breccia (a sedimentary rock made of older, broken rocks). Between zones A and B, the sandstone was neither overturned nor underturned but was injected into the downfaulted block G. Individual sandstone strata in these “mushroomed” masses have severe plastic deformation.
Zone D: Mixed zone of sand and boulders. Intense shearing of the down-faulted block F against the zone B disrupted both sand and boulders, producing the mixing of materials. The sand grains and boulders (sandstone and boulder breccia) could not have been lithified at the time of faulting.
Zone E: Sheared boulder breccia. Shearing of block F destroyed remnant bedding, rotated individual boulders, and homogenized the constituents of the boulder breccia.
Zone F: The hole into which block F fell becomes narrower as it goes deeper, which produced a space issue and contributed to the deformation of zones B, D, and E.
Zone G: The wider part of the hole above block F was filled by the fall of a second larger block that deformed zones A and C. Some leftover or remnant bedding still exists in block G, shown by line segments.
Zone H: Slightly deformed marine sandstone forming the right side of the fault.
Zone I: Undisturbed sedimentary boulder breccia overlying the marine sandstone immediately underneath.
The remnant bedding of the middle-marine sandstone is in places tightly folded, overturned, inverted, and injected but rarely broken by secondary faulting as might be expected if the rock beds were in a rigid state during deformation. Thus, data require that the beds had not yet had time to harden into rock and that they deformed while still in a fresh, plastic state.
Rapid emplacement of the boulder breccia is demanded by the following: 1) the presence of a highly sheared, fine-grain zone immediately underlying and/or adjacent to the overhanging fault, 2) remnant bedding of the boulder layer having been broken on impact, and 3) the fact that an instantaneously created fault gap will not stand empty in the subsurface.
Evidence for Soft-Sediment Deformation
The conventional dating assigned to the lowest Pliocene, marine sandstone of the Split Mountain Formation assumes an age of several million years. The age assigned to the soft-sediment deformation is middle or late Pleistocene—within the last million years. This dating system assumes that sediments, in a state of deep burial, stayed soft and pliable for millions of years or that the hard, brittle rocks bent with virtually no breaking or cracking! The rocks, however, tell us a different story—one in which the recent global Flood laid down immense deposits of sediments in a short amount of time. Soon after, the subsequent folding of these sediments, while they were still unlithified, produced the dramatic deformation we observe today. God’s hand was in the Flood event…the rocks bear witness to this cataclysm and still speak to us today.
References
Austin, S. A. and J. D. Morris. 1986. Tight Fold and Clastic Dikes as Evidence for Rapid Deposition and Deformation of Two Very Thick Stratigraphic Sequences. In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism. R. E. Walsh, C. L. Brooks, and R. S. Crowell, eds. Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship, 3-13.
Dibblee, Jr., T. W. 1954. Geology of the Imperial Valley Region. California Division of Mines Bulletin. 170, Chap. 2, 21-28.
Kerr, D. R., S. Pappajohn, and G. L. Peterson. 1979. Neogene Stratigraphic Section at Split Mountain, Eastern San Diego County, California. In Tectonics of the Juncture Between the San Andreas Fault System and the Salton Trough, Southeastern California: A Guidebook.
Crowell, J. C. and A. G. Sylvester, eds. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California Department of Geological Sciences, 111-123.
Robinson, J. W. and J. L. Threet. 1974. Geology of the Split Mountain Area, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Eastern San Diego County, California. In Recent Geologic and Hydrologic Studies, Eastern San Diego County and Adjacent Areas. Hart, M. W. and R. J. Dowlen, eds. San Diego, CA: San Diego Association of Geologists, Guidebook, 47-56.
Scott, G. R. 1963. Geology of the Kassler Quadrangle. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 421-B, Geologic Map of California, San Diego-El Centro Sheet. Sacramento, CA: California Division of Mines and Geology, 71-125.
Woodard, G. D. 1974. Redefinition of Cenozoic Stratigraphic Column in Split Mountain Gorge, Imperial Valley, California. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 58: 521-526.
* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
Cite this article: John D. Morris, Ph.D. 2013. Soft-Sediment Deformation: Recent Flood Evidence. Acts & Facts. 42 (9).
Image from ICR article.
See the link for the entire photo of this closeup, and for a detailed sketch of the rock layers.
If you take the drive north on Hwy 191 out of Vernal, UT heading up the east side of the Uinta Mountains to the Flaming Gorge you’ll see many rock formations like the pick you posted where the rock has been cut out for the road. Really awesome to see!
They had a name for the drive called “Rock of Ages” or “Rock Formations of The Ages” or something like that.
Wish I could find some pics of it online.
good job
The article is phony from beginning to end.
To start, geologists are not divided over the origin of sedimentary rocks. Some sediments clearly do undergo soft-sediment deformation: it can happen in near-surface layers with water present, but not at depth or with very great thicknesses. This has been known for well over a century. The point is, one can tell the difference. The case shown in the nice picture is certainly not soft-sediment deformation..
The whole Creationist movement, which I used to tolerate because of the apparent sincerity of it proponents, no longer should merit any patience. I don’t even regard Creationists as particularly Christian.
Let me put it simply: the Bible is not a textbook of geology. It never was intended to be; and it is plain ignorant to read it that way. It is not a physics manual, a chemistry book, a cookbook, an investment guide, or any of the other things people try to read into it.
It is a record of history, but always from a point of view. That view is the message, and is key. If people stuck to the simple but profound truths of the Bible, but left the dinosaurs (which aren’t even there) out of it, we would be reading things much more clearly.
Regards,
My favorite bumper sticker reads:
In the beginning God created evolution.
You have done even a greater Job!!!!
This ‘fossil’ ship’s bell were found recently about 50 metres (170 feet) off the coast of Victoria, Australia. These metal bells have become firmly encased in solid rock. The specimen is currently in the possession of the Maritime Archaeological Unit of Heritage Victoria, where it is being desalinated. Most of us have been so ‘evolutionized’ by our culture that things like rocks or fossils are immediately associated with millions of years of slow processes. It does not often register with the general public that there is no scientific reason to believe that rocks take millions of years to form—it all depends on having the right ingredients. Of course, these ship’s bells are not millions of years old. They come from the wreck of the wooden sailing ship Isabella Watson, which sank off the coast of Victoria in 1852. The bells are firmly cemented in a rock matrix. Found in one metre of water, they have been highly polished by surf action.
A bell encased in stone would be a dead ringer.
Exactly what kind of rock is that? Victoria, Australia is a highly volcanic area. If that’s igneous rock and not sedimentary, then there’s some “bait and switch” going on.
I am sorry you think that way.
The Bible is not a physics textbook, but the physics are true.
The Bible is not a chemistry book, but the chemistry is true..... etc etc.
However,
The Bible says:
“These things I write to you, that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.”
1 John 5:13 (DRV)
Do you trust in Christ alone for the payment of the penalty for your sin?
•As you can see, the bells were partially surrounded by solid rock, which could only have formed in less than 150 years, not millions of years. •Fossil shrimp. In 1994, scientists were studying the fossils of shrimp that were found in the stomachs of some very well preserved fossil fish found in Brazil. The scientists found a way to create similar fossil shrimp in only 4-6 weeks. The article reporting this research said: In only a few weeks, they managed to mimic a mineralisation process that takes millions of years in nature’ Yet the article has shown that such preservation does not need millions of years. Common sense indicates that whatever the process, it had to be rapid for the tissues to escape decay. •Clock in the rock. Found in 1975 near the South Jetty at Westport, Washington, this clock mechanism was found partially encased in solid rock, just like the bells from the ship. They also found seashells in the rock that surrounded the clock. Were clocks around millions of years ago?
•Fossil fence wire. This role of fence wire was discovered by an 11 year old girl at Eighty Mile Beach in the north of Western Australia. The role of wire is just over 2 feet in diameter and weighed 165 pounds. When they cut the rock open, they found the roll of modern day Number 8 fencing. This was the same type of wire used in the area between 1920 and 1970, which meant that the rock had formed around the fence in only 20-70 years, not millions.
•Fossil hat. The soft felt hat of a miner was found in a mine in Tasmania. It had been covered with water for more than 50 years. The minerals in the water were absorbed into the felt material of the hat turning it hard as stone. What once was a soft hat had become a hard hat. •Petrified ham, bowler hat and flour. On June 10, 1886, Mt. Tarawera on the North Island of New Zealand erupted. The eruption lasted for 4 hours. Several villages were destroyed by the lava and ash. The small town of Te Wairoa was one of those villages as it had been buried in ash. About 60 years they started excavating some of the buildings. Among the items they found that had been buried in the ash for all these years was a ham, a bowlers hat, several sandwiches and a bag of flour. All of them were as hard as stone as they had all been petrified by the ash in as little as 60 years. http://creationrevolution.com
The examples don't help explain why there is not a good answer to this admittedly good question.
The dating of rock whether igneous or sedimentary uses the same assumptions.
the II peter reference is indeed t Noah’s Flood
Copy/paste deserves a link.
The issue is not the "dating" of the rock, but the claim that the bell encased in the rock is evidence that the theories about how long it takes for sedimentary rock to form are wrong. If that's not sedimentary rock, then it isn't evidence of that at all. The geology of the area it was found suggests that it's quite likely it's igneous (volcanic) rock, and that could have easily formed around that bell in a matter of minutes.
“...evidence that the theories about how long it takes for sedimentary rock to form are wrong.....”
absolutely not true, I disagree!!!
“.. it’s igneous (volcanic) rock, and that could have easily formed around that bell in a matter of minutes...”
that may be true, but unlikely, as heat from molten rock would have damaged the bell (soft metal).
I have written the MAUH for more information, If I hear, I try to contact you.
“..There has been no volcanic activity in Australia in the past few hundred years, and no major eruption since Mt Gambier, on the border of South Australia and Victoria, 4500 years ago...”
http://home.iprimus.com.au/foo7/volcmap.html#2
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