I've read through most of this and didn't see anything about plate tectonics.
For those who believe in a literal interpretation of the Good Book, do they believe in plate tectonics? And therefor continental drift? India crashing into Asia? Africa and South America separating? Hot spots in the ridges in the middle of the ocean (Think Hawai'i and Iceland)? All that stuff happened in just a coupla thousand years?
If those folks are non-believers in plate techtonics, how do they explain "The Ring of Fire" in the Pacific? The Rift Valley in Africa? Maybe a good one to explore is Pinnacles National Park. Seems parts of it used to be down near Lancaster CA, 195 miles or so south of where they are located today? Along the San Andreas Fault. Which they have pretty good measurements for the last few years about the rate of movement. Did the pinnacles move nearly 200 miles in just 6000 years or so?
Located near the San Andreas Fault along the boundary of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, is an excellent example of tectonic plate movement. The Pinnacles Rocks are believed to be part of the Pinnacles-Neenach Volcanic Field that occurred 23 million years ago near present-day Lancaster, California, some 195 miles (314 km) southeast. The giant San Andreas Fault split the volcano and the Pacific Plate crept north, carrying the Pinnacles. The work of water and wind on these erodible volcanic rocks has formed the unusual rock structures seen today. Today, these rocks give many species of plants and animals a place to call home.
Of course, I suppose the fault could have moved much quicker in the past, and all this means one must believe they can tell that the rocks there came from the same volcanic source as the ones down south in Lancaster (there's the influence of those darn scientists again, playing with rocks and determining their chemical makeup and such) . Maybe the fault slowed down recently to the levels it seems to be moving today? Maybe it went really fast before the "white man" arrived with their measuring instruments? Oh, wait, seems there were some "natives" in the area during the biblical times, they don't seem to have stories of the fault really cookin' along. Maybe they just forgot to pass those stories down, after all they were savages. Or maybe they really weren't here all that time even?
If we can figure out some of this plate tectonics stuff, maybe we can settle this stuff once and for all, you know, age of the Earth and all that. Critters turnin' into other critters too.
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
