Yellowstone National Park

August 05, 2015

Yellowstone National Park

Imagine a volcanic explosion with 2,000 times the power of the extraordinary Mount St. Helens eruption of 1980 – an explosion so great, the entire United States would likely be covered with ash and more than two-thirds of the country would be rendered uninhabitable. Just beneath iconic geysers and geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park, is a massive chamber of molten rock - enough rock to fill the Grand Canyon at least 11 times! It’s here at Yellowstone National Park where great evidence of the catastrophic events of the past comes to life before the eyes of millions of tourists each year. From the Petrified Forest to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and across to the living sculptures at Mammoth Hot Springs; - each incredibly unique feature points to an historic event that rocked the very foundations of earth.

Mammoth Hot Springs (left), Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (center), Petrified Forest (right)[/caption]  

Fun Facts:

1. Yellowstone is America’s First National Park – Established in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant.
2. Yellowstone contains over 50% of the world’s hydrothermal features – there are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in the park.
3. Yellowstone is an active super volcano – there are about 20 known super volcanos in the world.^[i]

What Makes a Volcano “Super”?

A “Super” Volcano is the name for any volcano that has the capability of ejecting more than 240 cubic miles of volcanic material. In comparison, the Mount St. Helens explosion of 1980 contained only 0.26 cubic miles of material.^[ii] A super volcano is, at minimum, 1,000 times stronger than anything that has been witnessed by humans since the days of Noah.

 

How and When Did the Yellowstone Crater Form?

The volcanic explosion that left the crater at Yellowstone was an enormous event. In fact, some studies have estimated the blast to be as powerful as 1,000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs exploding every second!^[iii] An event of this magnitude would have literally reshaped the park and surrounding areas.

Evolutionary Geologists Say…

The evolutionists view is that this event occurred 2,000,000 to 700,000 years ago. That’s the most widely believed approximate range for the creation of the Yellowstone caldera (i.e. large volcanic crater). The last super volcano explosion is believed to be around 700,000 years ago. Evolutionists date the explosive features of Yellowstone through an old earth, evolutionary filter.  Relying on a number of assumptions, they conclude their belief that the Geological Column (i.e. rock record) represents billions of years. Since there is no empirical way to measure the rate at which past events happened their belief begins and ends with an unverified theory about the origin of the rock record. Therefore evolutionists must interpret the evidence through the uniformitarian belief in gradual processes (i.e. the present is the key to the past), which does not allow for worldwide catastrophic events.

Creationist Geologists Say…

The creationist view, on the other hand, dates the origin of the Geologic Column on a written eyewitness account – the Bible. The Bible gives us strong evidence supporting a scenario where the Yellowstone Caldera was formed during (and shortly after) the days of Noah’s Flood.[iv] In Genesis 7:11 we see volcanic activity and geysers as a precursor to the enormous amounts of water required to cover the entire earth. Genesis 7:11 says, “On that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” In other words, the earth’s crust was cracked and scolding and highly pressurized water erupted skyward.

Additionally, the Scriptures make it clear that the rains did not begin until after the fountains of the deep broke up. In Genesis 8:2, the Scriptures say, “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.” This verse plainly teaches that the rain stopped only after the fountains ceased.

These Scripture verses are amazingly (although not surprisingly) consistent with real science – specifically, the sequence of events that occurs during actual geyser modeling. In a geyser model, magma-heated water breaks through the earth’s crust and erupts in an explosive upheaval. As the super-heated steam comes into contact with colder air in the earth’s atmosphere, condensation occurs, producing clouds and rainfall – and in Noah’s case, a deluge. Science and Scripture once again align perfectly.

Summary

Yellowstone National Park is stuck in a geological time capsule that illustrates, perhaps better than anywhere else on earth, the after-effects of the great Flood. With its hundreds of active geysers, thousands of boiling mud pits, and one epic caldera, it’s reasonable to consider it evidence of a world still recovering from a catastrophic worldwide event. This, of course, begs the question, “is this mysterious land a window into the post-Flood days of Noah? We strongly think so.  

^[i] http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-25598050 ^[ii]http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2013/3014/fs2013-3014_text.pdf

^[iii] http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a8008/what-makes-a-supervolcano-so-super-11877720/

[iv] https://answersingenesis.org/geology/natural-features/volcanoes-windows-into-earths-past/

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