Slow and Gradual

In 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano erupted in Washington state. Two hundred and thirty square miles were destroyed, and the wildlife was killed. Now Scientists thought it would take at least a century for the ecosystem to recover. But if you visit Mount St. Helens today, just thirty-nine years later, you’ll see that they … were wrong! Within a decade of the catastrophe, life was flourishing.

Many scientists view everything through the lens of slow and gradual processes.

But catastrophes teach us that slow is not always the case. The world’s biggest catastrophe was the global flood of Noah’s time. But it wouldn’t have taken long for life to flourish once again.

Dig Deeper

• No Slow and Gradual Erosion
• Do Fossils Show Signs of Rapid Burial?