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
''Bird-Like'' Tracks Before Birds
Scientists have found what appears to be fossil bird tracks in rocks claimed to be 60 million years older than the oldest bird fossils.1...

NEWS
December 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 NKJV ICR...

NEWS
Renowned Chemist on Origin-of-Life: Put Up Or Shut Up
For some time now, renowned and award-winning Rice University chemist and outspoken Christian Dr. James Tour has been exposing the fact that origin-of-life...

NEWS
Butterflies and Cancer Detection
It’s something right out of science fiction. The beautiful, flighty butterfly has been discovered to have cancer detection properties via the...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Good Stewards
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Rainbows
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Gemstones & Jewels
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Black Holes
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Ice Age
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
Kids Edition 2023: Dinosaurs & Birds
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...