How Did the Events of Noah’s Flood Unfold?

Since the biblical account is the only reliable record of earth history, it is to be expected that these geological descriptions and time-markers for them would be significant in correlating the prominent geological features preserved in the rock record. We are told that the onset of the flood was triggered by the breaking up of the fountains of “the great deep.” This would indicate a violent beginning to the flood, as springs or fountains of water burst forth to spew vast quantities of water, magma, and volcanic gases (and perhaps other material) onto the surface from deeper inside the earth. Furthermore, since the breaking open of the fountains of the great deep is mentioned first as the causative factor in the flood in Genesis 7:11 and 8:2, this may suggest that the majority of the water for the flood came from that source and perhaps greatly outnumbered the waters that are referred to as falling through “the windows of heaven.”

The rupture of the fountains of the great deep were likely the trigger that ultimately resulted in the breakup of the earth’s crust and the onset of catastrophic plate tectonics. The bursting forth of subterranean waters would probably produce earthquakes and tsunamis and would therefore seem to imply that the flood began with catastrophic means. This description of the onset of the flood provides clues as to where we should look in the geological record for the pre-flood/flood boundary.

Pre-flood rivers, such as the Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel (Tigris), and Euphrates (Genesis 2:11–14), would have been carrying some sediment for about 1,656 years from the start of creation. It is also possible for other smaller catastrophes to have occurred during this time (e.g., volcanoes and/or earthquakes). So there would have been some small-scale erosion and sediment deposition prior to the flood. This raises an interesting question: Were the pre-flood sediments destroyed and/or redistributed during the flood or were they buried in place?

But what catastrophe could have caused the earth’s crust—many miles thick—to crack? Some creation geologists and astronomers have postulated that the rupture of the fountains of the great deep may have been initiated by asteroid/meteor strikes. As Dr. Andrew Snelling points out,

Geologists have found over a hundred impact craters on earth. Of the 110 impacts [some] were deposited in the uppermost rock layers, and the rest were spread over the many lower layers. If all these layers were deposited slowly over millions of years, then impacts have been more common in recent times. But if most layers were deposited during the year-long Flood, 71 impacts occurred during only one year. The other 39 were spread over the next 4,500 years.2

Another major milestone is day 150. At this stage of the flood, we are told that the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. This implies that modern mountain building, at least in what we now call the Middle East, had begun (see also Psalm 104:8–9). Furthermore, if our current understanding of orogeny (mountain building) is correct, the rapid formation of the mountains of Ararat required the Eurasian Plate, African Plate, and Arabian Plate to collide with one another (perhaps with some contribution from movement of the Indian Plate), which we know contributed to the Himalayan Mountains rising (and still does, even today).

The springs of the great deep were likely the trigger that ultimately resulted in the breakup of the earth’s crust and the onset of catastrophic plate tectonics.

The springs of the great deep were likely the trigger that ultimately resulted in the breakup of the earth’s crust and the onset of catastrophic plate tectonics.

The biblical account also indicates that on day 150 the fountains of the great deep were stopped and the windows of heaven were retrained or shut off, so from that point on, the waters began to steadily recede (Genesis 8:1–3). But this process took a lot of time and would have caused more erosion and reshaping of natural features.

One more significant milestone is day 314 (see Table 1). By this time during the flood timeline, the biblical account indicates that the water had receded from off the continents sufficiently for the surface of the landscape to essentially be dry, at least in the areas as far as Noah could observe after taking the cover off the ark (Genesis 8:13).

Finally, by day 370, the earth’s continental land surfaces were dry, and God commanded Noah’s family to leave the ark and bring out the animals (Genesis 8:15–19). Therefore, the recessional (retreating water) stage of the flood lasted about five and half months, while the flood’s inundatory stage (when the waters were rising) lasted exactly five months. Basically, the recessional stage lasted almost the same length of time as it took for the water to completely cover the earth globally. However, this recession would have also greatly contributed to sediment deposits, as the continents were basically scoured by excessive runoff to the newly created deep-sea basins (Psalm 104:8–9). Furthermore, swollen and sediment-choked rivers would have also scoured and widened river channels.

After the flood ended on day 3703 (with the command for Noah to exit the ark), it would seem that God had already reestablished the hydrologic cycle. This is indicated by the rainbow that Noah saw through the rain clouds, and the set times for seedtime and harvest in accordance with the seasonal cycle of rain (Genesis 8:22, 9:12–17).