Claim CD202:
Sandstones and shales cover large areas, larger than we observe being
produced today. This is consistent with deposition by a global flood, not
with uniformitarianism.
Source:
Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Green Forest, AR: Master
Books, pp. 102-103.
Response:
- Sandstones, shales and other formations often do not have uniform ages.
For example, the extensive St. Peter Sandstone of central North America
was deposited at different times in different locations.
- Shales form mostly from mud on the ocean floor, which does cover large
areas. In the late Ordovician, much of North America was covered by a
shallow sea. Much shale formed there over millions of years, to be
exposed when the sea level lowered.
Sands occur mostly along shorelines. When a shoreline recedes
gradually, sands can be left covering a large area.
- A catastrophic flood would not be expected to produce such large
amounts of shale and sandstone. The particle sizes in these sediments
is uniform; the gravel, sand, and mud have been sorted apart into
different areas. The high energies in the flood would mix everything
together. At best, a flood could redeposit sands or muds that already
existed, and it would take millions of years for such quantities to
form.
Furthermore, shales are sometimes found atop sandstones. A single
flood could not deposit both. Even more impossible for a single flood,
we also see multiple layers of sand or shale interleaved with other
materials, such as volcanic ash [Nanayama et al. 2003].
References:
- Nanayama, Futoshi et al., 2003. Unusually large earthquakes inferred
from tsunami deposits along the Kuril trench. Nature 424: 660-663.
created 2003-8-6, modified 2004-9-9