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Cataclysmic Geology vs. Uniformitarian Geology

“One of the principal reasons that Earth is a rough place to live is illustrated by the argument between Earth scientists who can’t agree on the basic formation of the Earth and the history of its formation.

There are two conflicting schools of thought on the subject of geology, each with their own theories. To better understand them, let’s review some basics on the entire subject.

GEOLOGY is the study of the structure of the Earth’s crust and the formation and development of its various layers, including individual rock types and early life forms found as fossils in rocks.

Based on the most reliable sources of information currently available, the Earth can best be understood as a slightly pear-shaped ball floating in space. It is held in orbit around a star by a balance of gravitational attraction and centrifugal force.

The mean distance of the Earth from its star is 92,897,000 miles. The star (our sun) is itself held in place relative to the Milky Way Galaxy and in turn to the rest of the universe by similar forces.

The Earth is moving through space at the rate of approximately 45,000 mph. The Earth’s orbit around its star is 583,400,000 miles, and the Earth travels along this orbit at a velocity of about 66,000 mph. Earth rotates on its axis once every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds. A point on the equator is therefore moving at a rate of a little more than 1,000 mph relative to its axis. The Milky Way galaxy as a whole, however, is moving toward the stellar constellation Leo at about 375 miles per second.

In addition to these primary motions, three other components of the total motion of Earth exist: the precession of the equinoxes, periodic variation in the inclination of Earth’s axis caused by the gravitational pulls of the sun and moon, and variation of latitude.

The cold, rigid, rocky crust of Earth extends to depths of 60 miles. Oceans cover approximately 70 percent of the surface of the Earth. The average depth of the oceans is 12,447 feet, more than five times the average height of the continents.

How stable is the real estate on which we Earth-bound Homo sapiens build our farmhouses?

Earth has a very, very thin outer layer comprised of two shells. The crust and upper mantle surrounds a core that becomes increasingly hot and viscous as you approach the center. The outer crust literally “floats” on top of this molten center.

The inside of Earth is relatively liquid, and the crust is relatively brittle. The crust has developed cracks throughout its entire surface as a result of having cooled down from a previously more liquid state, just like dirt cracks as it dries out in the hot sun. Therefore, this brittle crust has broken up into a dozen or so independently moving pieces called “plates”. Both the land masses and oceans are “floating” on top of these plates. Shearing of these partially molten rocks, which are about 60 miles thick, enables the continents to drift around the Earth’s core.

As the plates move, so do the oceans and land masses. As the plates pull apart from each other,the resulting cracksallow the molten rock underneath to “leak” out. This results in volcanic activity that can create newmountains or land masses. Conversely, the plates crash into, and rub against, each other.The result is an earthquake. And, sometimes new mountain ranges are pushed up or floods occur on the coastlines of land masses.