1 This (GREEK), or Place of Descent, is the proper rendering of the Armenian name of this very city. It is called in Ptolemy Naxuana, and by Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian historian, Idsheuan; but at the place itself Nachidsheuan, which signifies The first place of descent, and is a lasting monument of the preservation of Noah in the ark, upon the top of that mountain, at whose foot it was built, as the first city or town after the flood. See Antiq. B. XX. ch. 2. sect. 3; and Moses Chorenensis, who also says elsewhere, that another town was related by tradition to have been called Seron, or, The Place of Dispersion, on account of the dispersion of Xisuthrus’s or Noah’s sons, from thence first made. Whether any remains of this ark be still preserved, as the people of the country suppose, I cannot certainly tell. Mons. Tournefort had, not very long since, a mind to see the place himself, but met with too great dangers and difficulties to venture through them.” (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, William Whiston)

“[24] But when Monobazus was grown old, and saw that he had but a little time to live, he had a mind to come to the sight of his son before he died. So he sent for him, and embraced him after the most affectionate manner, and bestowed on him the country called Carra; it was a soil that bare amomum in great plenty: there are also in it the remains of that ark, wherein it is related that Noah escaped the deluge, and where they are still shown to such as are desirous to see them. ¹” (Ibid.)

“93] Now all the writers of barbarian histories make mention of this flood, and of this ark; among whom is Berosus the Chaldean. For when he is describing the circumstances of the flood, he goes on thus: “It is said there is still some part of this ship in Armenia, at the mountain of the Cordyaeans; and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away, and use chiefly as amulets for the averting of mischiefs.” Hieronymus the Egyptian also, who wrote the Phoenician Antiquities, and Mnaseas, and a great many more, make mention of the same. Nay, Nicolaus of Damascus, in his ninety-sixth book, hath a particular relation about them; where he speaks thus: “There is a great mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris, upon which it is reported that many who fled at the time of the Deluge were saved; and that one who was carried in an ark came on shore upon the top of it; and that the remains of the timber were a great while preserved. This might be the man about whom Moses the legislator of the Jews wrote.” (Ibid.)

Any evidence for a global flood?

1. Marine Fossils High on Continents and Mountains

So-called Creationists highlight that fossils of sea creatures (clams, corals, fish, ammonites, nautiloids) are found in sedimentary rocks covering continents and even high mountains, rather than primarily on the modern seafloor. Examples include marine fossils in Grand Canyon layers (over a mile above sea level) and ammonites near the top of Mount Everest/Himalayas. It is argued that marine fossils in sedimentary rocks across continents and high mountain ranges are consistent with the Genesis Flood. Mainstream geologists explain these fossils through ancient marine deposition followed by tectonic uplift and other geological processes.

• Sources:
  • Answers in Genesis: “Global Evidences of the Genesis Flood” — https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/evidences-genesis-flood/
  • Answers in Genesis: “Worldwide Flood, Worldwide Evidence” — https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/worldwide-flood-evidence/
  • Biblical Science Institute overview — https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/geology/overview-of-geologic-evidence-of-the-flood/

2. Rapid Burial and Fossil “Graveyards”

There are extensive fossil beds (e.g., billions of nautiloids in Grand Canyon’s Redwall Limestone) and exquisitely preserved specimens (animals buried mid-meal, mid-birth, or with soft tissues). Rapid burial by sediment-laden water is required to prevent decay or scavenging, consistent with catastrophic flooding rather than slow accumulation.

• Sources:
  • Apologetics Press: “Was the Flood Global? Testimony from Scripture and Science” — https://apologeticspress.org/was-the-flood-global-testimony-from-scripture-and-science-5671/

3. Continent-Spanning Sedimentary Layers Deposited Rapidly

Thick packages of water-deposited sedimentary rocks (sandstones, limestones, shales) cover vast areas of every continent and can be correlated across continents (e.g., Tapeats Sandstone and equivalents from Grand Canyon across North America and into other regions). Features such as flat contacts between layers, lack of extensive bioturbation or soil horizons in many places, cross-bedding indicating high-energy currents, and soft-sediment deformation (layers bent while still soft) are cited as evidence of rapid, high-energy deposition over weeks/months rather than millions of years.

• Sources:
  • ICR: Work by Tim Clarey and the Column Project mapping megasequences (Sauk through Tejas) showing progressive inundation peaking near the end of the Cretaceous (interpreted as ~Day 150 of the Flood) across multiple continents — https://www.icr.org/content/global-stratigraphy-supports-progressive-worldwide-flood and related articles such as https://www.icr.org/article/how-can-anyone-believe-there-was-global/.

4. Progressive Global Flood Pattern in Stratigraphy

ICR’s extensive compilation of stratigraphic columns (thousands of data points from wells, outcrops, and seismic data across North/South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia) shows similar patterns on every continent: limited early flooding, progressive increase in sediment volume and extent, a global high-water peak, then recession. Fossils appear in a consistent burial order matching ecological/hydraulic sorting during rising waters.

• Sources: ICR articles including “Global Stratigraphy Supports a Progressive Worldwide Flood,” “Asia Data Confirm Progressive Global Flood,” and “A Progressive Global Flood Model Confirmed by Rock Data Across Five Continents.”

5. Large-Scale Erosional Features from Receding Waters

Features such as plateaus, mega-valleys/canyons (e.g., Grand Canyon itself interpreted as largely carved during/after the Flood), water gaps (rivers cutting through ridges), and underfit rivers (valleys much larger than current rivers) are attributed to massive sheet-like erosion and drainage as Flood waters receded.

• Sources: Discussions in AiG and ICR materials; also referenced in presentations summarizing five key geomorphic evidences (plateaus, mega-valleys, sedimentary layers, water gaps, underfit rivers).

6. Worldwide Flood Legends

Hundreds of flood traditions from cultures across every inhabited continent share core elements with the Genesis account (global/widespread deluge, survivors in a boat/vessel, animals saved, etc.). Creationists see this as cultural memory of a real global event.

• Sources: Summarized in various creationist overviews, e.g., sixdaysblog series and AiG materials.

Creationists emphasize that these observations are what one would predict from the biblical description (fountains of the great deep breaking up, 40 days of rain, waters covering all high mountains, year-long duration). They interpret the entire Phanerozoic fossil-bearing rock record (or most of it) as Flood deposits, with the order reflecting progressive burial rather than evolutionary succession over deep time. Key organizations presenting this case in detail are Answers in Genesis (answersingenesis.org, especially their Flood section) and the Institute for Creation Research (icr.org, particularly Tim Clarey’s stratigraphic work). Note that mainstream geology strongly rejects these interpretations, attributing the same features to plate tectonics, sea-level changes, and gradual processes over hundreds of millions of years; the above summarizes only the creationist perspective as requested.

7. Polystrate Fossils (especially upright trees)

Fossilized tree trunks (and occasionally other organisms) that extend vertically through multiple sedimentary layers. Creationists argue that if layers formed slowly over millions of years, the exposed upper parts of the trees would have rotted long before higher layers were deposited. It is interpreted that these trees were ripped up during the Flood, often from floating log mats, that sank and were rapidly buried while still upright (or sometimes inverted). Classic sites include Joggins Cliffs (Nova Scotia) and various coal-bearing strata worldwide.

• Sources:
  • Creation Ministries International: “Polystrate trees and ‘fossil forests’ explained by Flood log mats” — https://creation.com/en/articles/polystrate-trees-and-fossil-forests-explained
  • Creation.com: “How the Joggins polystrate fossils falsify long ages” — https://creation.com/joggins-polystrate-fossils
  • Mentions in AiG materials on rapid burial (e.g., https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-evidence/).

8. Soft-Sediment Deformation / Folded Rock Layers

Thick sequences of sedimentary layers that are tightly folded or bent without significant fracturing or cracking. Creationists contend this shows the sediments were still soft and plastic when deformed (soon after deposition), rather than having hardened into rock over millions of years before folding. Grand Canyon examples (e.g., folds in the Tapeats and other layers) and other sites are commonly cited.

• Sources:
  • ICR: Discussions of soft-sediment deformation as recent Flood evidence.
  • Answers in Genesis geology pages (e.g., https://answersingenesis.org/geology/ noting folded layers in Grand Canyon walls).

9. The Great Unconformity

A widespread erosional surface (often between Precambrian basement rocks and overlying Cambrian sedimentary layers) that can be traced across continents. Many creationists interpret this as the erosional scar left by the initial onset of the Flood (massive denudation of the pre-Flood land surface by rising waters and rainfall), with the overlying “Sauk” megasequence marking early Flood deposits.

• Sources:
  • Creation.com and related papers on the Great Unconformity and early Flood erosion.
  • AiG and ICR materials linking it to the start of the Flood year.

10. Lack of Bioturbation and Flat Contacts Between Layers

Many extensive sedimentary layers show little evidence of bioturbation (burrowing, rooting, or other biological disturbance of the sediment) and have remarkably flat, sharp contacts between them. Creationists argue this indicates rapid deposition of successive layers with little time for organisms to colonize or rework the surfaces, consistent with continuous high-energy Flood sedimentation rather than long periods of exposure.

• Sources:
  • Presentations and articles from Creation Ministries International (e.g., discussions by fluvial geomorphologist Ron Neller summarizing plateaus, water gaps, underfit rivers, sedimentary layers, and absence of bioturbation).
  • Broader AiG/ICR stratigraphic arguments.

11. Other Supporting Points Sometimes Emphasized

• Rapid magnetic polarity reversals recorded in some lava sequences, which some creationists link to dynamic changes in Earth’s core and rapid plate motions during the Flood.
• Large Igneous Provinces (continental flood basalts) interpreted as catastrophic volcanism associated with the breakup of the pre-Flood supercontinent and “fountains of the great deep.”
• Consistent current directions in certain widespread sandstones (e.g., indicators of water flow in one dominant direction across large regions of North America).

These build on the core geological arguments (continent-spanning water-laid sediments, marine fossils on mountains, fossil graveyards, progressive megasequence patterns, and large-scale erosional features from receding waters) and the cultural evidence of widespread flood legends.

Key portals for more detail remain:

• Answers in Genesis Flood section: https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/
• Institute for Creation Research (especially Tim Clarey’s Column Project): https://www.icr.org/
• Creation Ministries International: https://creation.com/ (search “flood” or specific topics like polystrate fossils)

These are the evidences creationists present as compelling; mainstream geology interprets the same features very differently (via plate tectonics, sea-level cycles, local depositional environments, etc., over deep time). Let’s continue.

12. Coal Seams and Rapid Formation of Coal

Vast, widespread coal beds (some extremely thick and pure) are interpreted as the compressed remains of enormous quantities of pre-Flood vegetation that was ripped up, floated in log mats, and rapidly buried during the Flood. Creationists argue that coal can form quickly under the right conditions of heat, pressure, and burial (as demonstrated in laboratory experiments), and that features such as sharp contacts, marine fossils mixed in coal, polystrate trees within coal measures, and the sheer volume/purity of many seams do not match slow swamp accumulation over millions of years.

• Sources:
  • Creation.com: “Coal: Memorial to the Flood” and related articles (e.g., discussions by Tas Walker).
  • AiG and ICR materials on coal beds as Flood deposits.

13. Soft Tissue, Proteins, and Biomolecules in Fossils (especially Dinosaurs)

The discovery of flexible soft tissue, blood vessels, cells, and original proteins in dinosaur bones (and other “ancient” fossils) is cited as evidence that these remains cannot be tens of millions of years old. Creationists argue that such organic material should have decayed long ago under any realistic conditions, so its presence supports recent, rapid burial during the Flood (~4,500 years ago).

• Sources:
  • Answers in Genesis and ICR articles on dinosaur soft tissue (building on discoveries by Mary Schweitzer and subsequent finds). Note that Mary said about the Dino soft tissue: “It smelled just like one of the cadavers we had in the lab who had been treated with chemotherapy before he died” (Source)
  • Frequently linked to the broader case for recent catastrophic burial.

14. Carbon-14 in Coal, Diamonds, Fossils, and Oil

Measurable amounts of carbon-14 (which has a relatively short half-life) are reported in coal, oil, natural gas, fossil wood, and even diamonds that conventional dating assigns ages of tens to hundreds of millions of years. Creationists argue that detectable C-14 should be long gone after ~100,000 years, so its presence indicates these materials formed (or were buried) only thousands of years ago — consistent with a Flood origin.

• Sources:
  • RATE project results (ICR and related) and AiG discussions of radiocarbon in “ancient” materials.
  • Articles such as AiG’s “A Creationist Puzzle” on carbon-14.

15. Sediment Transported Long Distances + Rapid/No Erosion Between Layers

Many widespread rock layers contain sediments that originated hundreds or thousands of kilometers away and were transported by high-energy water currents. In addition, many contacts between successive layers are flat and sharp (paraconformities), with little or no evidence of prolonged erosion, weathering, or soil development — indicating continuous, rapid deposition rather than long pauses.

• Sources:
  • Answers in Genesis: “Geologic Evidences for the Genesis Flood” (lists sediment transport and rapid/no erosion between strata as key points).
  • Biblical Science Institute overviews.

16. Population Growth and Genetic Bottlenecks

Human population growth rates, when projected backward, are argued to fit comfortably with a starting population of eight people ~4,500 years ago. Genetic studies (mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome) are sometimes interpreted as showing recent population bottlenecks consistent with the Flood (and later Babel dispersion).

These build on the earlier categories (marine fossils on mountains, continent-spanning layers, fossil graveyards, polystrate fossils, soft-sediment folding, the Great Unconformity, progressive megasequences, large-scale erosional landforms, flood legends, etc.).

Major sources that compile or expand on these points:

• Answers in Genesis (answersingenesis.org/the-flood/ and geology sections)
• Institute for Creation Research (icr.org — especially Column Project and RATE-related work)
• Creation Ministries International (creation.com — search “coal,” “soft tissue,” “carbon-14,” etc.)

As with the previous lists, these are the arguments creationists themselves present as persuasive; mainstream science offers alternative explanations for each (e.g., local catastrophic events, exceptional preservation conditions, contamination in C-14 measurements, etc.).

17. Ecological Zonation + Hydraulic/Hydrodynamic Sorting Explaining the Fossil Order

Creationists acknowledge that fossils appear in a generally consistent vertical order worldwide. Instead of evolutionary succession over deep time, they attribute this order primarily to:

• Ecological zonation: Rising Flood waters first buried lowland/marine ecosystems, then progressively higher elevation or more mobile communities.
• Differential escape: More mobile animals (e.g., mammals, birds, dinosaurs) could flee longer and were buried higher.
• Hydraulic sorting: Density, shape, and size caused different organisms to settle out of the water column at different rates/times.

They argue this combination, plus progressive megasequence inundations, better explains the observed order (including sudden appearances and stasis of kinds) than gradual evolution.

• Sources:
  • ICR: “Five Rules of Flood Paleontology” — https://www.icr.org/content/five-rules-flood-paleontology
  • Creation.com and Canyon Ministries discussions of fossil order.

18. Catastrophic Plate Tectonics (CPT)

John Baumgardner and others propose that the Flood involved rapid (“runaway”) subduction of oceanic crust, causing continents to move at meters-per-second speeds during the year of the Flood. This model is used to explain:

• Rapid opening of ocean basins
• Mountain building late in the Flood
• Widespread volcanism and flood basalts
• Rapid magnetic field reversals
• The overall progressive flooding pattern seen in the rock record

Creationists point to seismic tomography showing cooler material at the base of the mantle as possible remnants of rapidly subducted pre-Flood ocean crust.

• Sources:
  • Creation.com: Articles comparing catastrophic vs. conventional plate tectonics.
  • Answers in Genesis pieces on Baumgardner’s model and its predictions.
  • Integrated into ICR’s progressive Flood megasequence framework.

19. Trace Fossils (Tracks) Appearing Below Body Fossils

Fossilized footprints and trackways of dinosaurs, reptiles, and other animals are sometimes found in layers below the strata containing the body fossils of those same kinds of animals. Creationists argue this is expected if animals were fleeing rising waters and leaving tracks that were quickly covered, while the animals themselves were buried later (and higher) as the Flood progressed.

• Sources: Biblical Science Institute and AiG overviews of geologic Flood evidences.

20. Massive Evaporite (Salt) Deposits

Huge layered salt deposits (halite, gypsum, etc.) on multiple continents are sometimes explained by catastrophic precipitation from Flood waters or rapid evaporation in restricted basins as waters receded, rather than millions of years of slow evaporation in arid climates.

21. The Sheer Scale and Character of the Fossil Record Itself

Creationists repeatedly emphasize the existence of “billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth” as the single most obvious prediction of a global Flood. They note the mixing of marine and terrestrial fossils in many places, the catastrophic nature of many deposits, and the difficulty of forming fossils under normal gradual conditions.

These continue to build on the previous lists (marine fossils high up, continent-spanning layers, polystrate fossils, soft tissue & C-14 evidence, coal beds, soft-sediment folding, Great Unconformity, large-scale landforms from receding waters, flood legends, etc.).

Primary reference hubs remain:

• Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/
• Institute for Creation Research: https://www.icr.org/ (search “Flood,” “megasequence,” “paleontology”)
• Creation Ministries International: https://creation.com/ (extensive articles on all the above topics)