The global flood, as described in the Bible book of Genesis, is considered to be a myth by many people and scholars today, but let’s look at how the Bible describes it

“When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights”—Genesis 7:11,12 NLT

“Finally, the water covered the highest mountains on earth, rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. All the living things on earth died–birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people”—Genesis 7:19-22 NLT

The Bible presents this global flood as a real historical event, occurring about 4,500-5,500 years ago, and covering even all “the highest mountains on earth” by “more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks”. Water is very heavy, and even local floods cause much destruction. But this was a global flood, not just local. The earth itself has much evidence of such a destructive catastrophic event in its geology. Let’s briefly look at some the main evidences of this.

Fossils of Sea Creatures Found All Over the Earth, Even at Very High Elevations 

These are in rock layers every continent. Most of the rock layers in the Grand Canyon have marine fossils, more than a mile above sea level. Fossilized shellfish are even found in the Himalayas. This could not have happened if “the water” had not “covered the highest mountains on earth” (Genesis 7:19 NLT).

Rapid Fossilization of Plants and Animals

This evidence is found all over the world. The Redwall Limestone of Grand Canyon layer has billions of nautiloid fossils within it, which was deposited catastrophically by a huge flow of mostly lime sediment. The chalk beds of the United States, and Europe, and fossils of fish, ichthyosaurs, insects, and other creatures globally give much evidence of the global flood, including rapid catastrophic destruction and burial. Under the weight of such a huge amount of water, the pressure thus created rapidly fossilized all kinds of creatures and other living things, such as plants and trees. Examples of such petrification that likely occurred during the global flood are found in the now semi-desert area of the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, United States. An article about this park explains:

“Early in Triassic time, about 220 million years ago, this area was an open valley, crossed bt meandering streams. In the highlands to the west and and southwest, animals lived in a lush tropical forest of gymnosperms, ferns cycads, and horsetails . . . The Petrified Forest [has a] tremendous concentration of  of fossilized logs. At least fourteen species of petrified trees have been found in the park. Most have been identified as Araucarioxylon zonicum . . . , a plant related to the Norfolk Italian Pine, monkey-puzzle, and South American araucaria trees of today. Fossil fronds, pollen, and spores of over two hundred species of plants have also been found. Preserved animals are of great interest, too, with over sixty species identified. Of most interest are archosaurs, the category of reptiles that includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, and the forerunners of birds. The streams contained amphibians, freshwater sharks  and lungfish, and clams and snails. Borings preserved in the petrified logs show that insects such as termites, beetles, and cockroaches were there, too”—Arizona Rocks, pages 22,23

While secular scientists identify all this as being “about 220 million years ago,” it sounds very much like the world prior to the Biblical flood, being well-watered, having lush vegetation, overflowing with all sorts of creatures that are not there now. Certainly this area then was nothing like it is now. 

Sedimentary Rock Layers Deposited Rapidly All Over the World

Across entire continents and even between continents physical features show rapid deposition of materials by huge water currents in a relatively short time. The famous white chalk cliffs of southern England can be traced westward to Ireland across England and to Northern Ireland. Going in the other direction, they can be traced across France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, southern Scandanavia, and other parts of Europe to Turkey, then to Israel and Egypt in the Middle East, and even as far as Kazakhstan. Amazingly these same chalk beds with the same fossils and the same distinctive strata above and below them can be seen in Midwest in the United States from Nebraska to Texas. Even more amazing than that is that these same chalk beds can be seen in the Perth Basin of Western Australia.

Sediment Transported Across Very Long Distances and Wide Areas

These sediments are found to have been the result of erosion and were carried very long distances by fast-moving water. The sand in the Coconino Sandstone of the Grand Canyon in Arizona apparently was eroded and transported from what is now the northern US and Canada.

Rock Layers Show Evidence of Bending and Tremendous Upheaval

This can be seen from visual observation, especially in the mountains, all over the world. Rock layers are seen to be at angles, and broken off, oftentimes, rather than being level, contrary to expectations of a gradual build up.

Rapid or No Erosion Between Rock Layers

Flat boundaries between layers with no evidence of erosion are seen all over the world, indicating they were deposited rapidly. Two layers of the Grand Canyon, the Coconino Sandstone and the Hermit Shale Formation, have a flat boundary between them, indicating no erosion between them, giving evidence of their rapid deposition. Another example of flat boundaries is the Redwall Limestone at the Grand Canyon, and the strata beneath it.

Numerous Strata Laid Down in Rapid Succession

Rocks are hard and brittle and don’t bend – they break. But in many places around the world we see bent, or curved, rock layers, which indicates they were quickly laid down folded, while still wet and forming. One example of this is the Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon, which is folded at a right angle, without any evidence of breaking. 

Conclusion

“If these keep silence, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40 NJB). Earth’s rocks do give a powerful witness as to the truthfulness of God’s Word, the Bible. The purpose of this article is not to present an in-depth look at all the geologic evidence for the Biblical flood. There are many other sources for that, which can easily be checked. Scientific geological evidence is consistent with, and supports, a global flood, as described in the Bible. Even with all of this physical evidence for the Biblical flood, the primary evidence for the global flood is found in the Bible, not in science.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, referred to “the flood,” “in Noah’s day” (Matthew 24:37-39 NLT) as a historical fact. Why? Because he knew that it really happened! He saw the flood “from heaven” where he lived prior to coming to earth (John 6:58).  The apostle Peter wrote under inspiration that:

 “God . . . did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others”—2 Peter 2:4,5 NIV

“God . . . brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood”—2 Peter 3:5,6 NLT

God’s Word, the Bible, consistently presents “the flood,” “in Noah’s day,” as being global, as well as being a historical fact.