The Grand Staircase | The Institute for Creation Research

The Grand Staircase

Grand Canyon, with its multi-layered sides, is well known to creationists—years of creationist research and writing have secured its place in Flood geology and creationist literature. The Grand Canyon strata are (mostly) from the Paleozoic “Era,” supposedly from about 550 million to 250 million years ago according to uniformitarian dating. Creationists deny the date, considering the fossil and geologic records as largely due to the great Flood of Noah’s day some few thousand years ago. Paleozoic strata were deposited early in the Flood, while the following Mesozoic “Era” (supposedly 250 to 65 million years ago) and Cenozoic “Era” (from 65 onward) represent middle to late (or post) Flood activity. Grand Canyon doesn’t speak to these, for these strata are not present there, having evidently been eroded away.

However, when one takes a big picture view of the strata, he sees that the Canyon is only the last notch of a much larger canyon stretching from northern Colorado to southern Arizona. It’s too big to see and can only be appreciated from high above the earth or on maps. The north flank of Grand Canyon is overlain by the Vermillion Cliffs, made up of the Chinle and Kayenta Formations, and the White Cliffs are made up of the cross-bedded Navajo Sandstone. That is overlain by the Grey Cliffs, all of which make up Zion Canyon strata units, which are overlain by the Brian Head and Wasatch Formations, giving Bryce Canyon its unique charm.

Creationists generally attribute Grand Canyon and strata designated as Paleozoic to the beginning phases of the great Flood and ascribe Zion Canyon and strata from the Mesozoic to the middle stages during which the Flood was at its maximum. During the Cenozoic, the waters began to wane. On at least a regional scale, all of the strata deposition required intense, catastrophic forces—the great Flood of Noah’s day!

The accompanying diagram illustrates the successive layers and their vertical relationship.1 Grand Canyon shows the continent-spanning Tapeats Sandstone, deposited during the first burst of the Flood by dynamic water action. The Redwall Limestone, in which billions of two-foot-long nautiloid fossils were discovered by creationists, prove the deposit could not have been due to gradual processes. Likewise, the Coconino Sandstone is an underwater sand ripple deposit, not a series of desert sand dunes. Zion Canyon places the Navajo Sandstone in its proper context among marine deposits with marine fossils, not as a terrestrial deposit. Bryce Canyon can best be considered a failed lake bed full of ponding Flood waters. It all fits inferences gained from biblical information. The Grand Staircase, shown in this figure, could be considered Exhibit A for the Flood model of geology.

Reference

  1. Adapted from Figure 4.12 in Austin, S. 1994. Grand Canyon: Monument to Catastrophe. Santee, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 69.

* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.

Cite this article: Morris, J. 2012. The Grand Staircase. Acts & Facts. 41 (4): 14.

The Latest
NEWS
Liberty and the Word of God
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Psalm 119:45). July 4th is called Independence Day here in our country because on...

NEWS
July 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome...

NEWS
Valued Longtime ICR Employee Mary Smith Retires
Mary Morris Smith, an employee of the Institute for Creation Research for many years, has retired. The second daughter of ICR founder Dr. Henry M. Morris...

NEWS
Man of Science, Man of God: George Washington Carver
Who:  George Washington Carver What: Father of Modern Agriculture When: 1864 or 1865 – January 5, 1943 Where: Diamond Grove,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Scopes Monkey Trial: A Battle of Worldviews
Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, and its statue of William Jennings Bryan Image credit: M. Mueller The Scopes Monkey...

ACTS & FACTS
Long Non-Coding RNAs: The Unsung Heroes of the Genome
Evolutionary theory holds that all living things came about through random, natural processes. So conventional scientists believe the genome has developed...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 1: Tiny Clues of a Grand Picture
Yosemite National Park in California is a sure source of stunning scenery. It’s no wonder that American naturalist John Muir persuaded President...

ACTS & FACTS
From Inference to Theory: A Common Design Case Study
Without a doubt, humans, chimpanzees, and other organisms share similar features. An early explanation was that these features reflect similar designs...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: T. rex
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Entering By The Door
Recently, I hosted a visiting pastor from a large church at ICR’s Discovery Center. As I guided him through our Dallas museum, one conversation...