Grand Canyon, what is the message?
By Tom Vail
The Grand Canyon is an awesome spectacle of the
Lord’s creation, a classic example of erosion
unequaled anywhere on earth.
Carved through sedimentary layers of limestone,
sandstone, and shale, and into the bedrock of schist
and granite, this great chasm stretches 277 miles
through the Colorado Plateau. It descends over a
mile into the earth and extends as much as 18 miles
in width. The Canyon holds within its walls
mountains that are taller than anything east of the
Mississippi River.
But the Grand Canyon is also a place to find and
Rafting the Colorado
explore the wonders of God’s creation. When
viewed from a Biblical perspective, the Canyon has “God” written all over it, from the splendor and grandeur of
the Canyon walls, to the diverse and unique design of the plants and animals that inhabit this magical place.
They all display the magnificence of the hand of our Creator.
Not only is the Canyon a testimony to creation, but it also presents evidence of God’s judgment of the world. It
was a judgment by water of a world broken by sin. The Canyon gives us a glimpse of the effects and scale of a
catastrophic global flood, the biblical Flood of Noah’s day. Visitors to the Grand Canyon generally find it to be
awe inspiring, but at the same time, too strange and overwhelming to be fully understood on its own, for the
Canyon can’t tell us about itself. As humans, we tend to ask two questions as we view this vast, grand,
mysterious hole in the ground: How and Why.
Only through speculation can either of those questions be answered. Since the one and only true history book,
the Bible, does not mention the Grand Canyon, all we can truly do is theorize based on the evidence that we see
and examine.
As we consider the “how,” we will find that virtually all geologists
agree that the Grand Canyon was carved by water. The question is
how quickly and when. If we examine the prevailing interpretive
literature about the Canyon, we will find that the views presented
are predominantly based on evolutionary theories. For the Canyon,
this means that the rock layers were laid down a particle at a time
over literally hundreds of millions of years and that the Canyon
was later carved slowly by the Colorado River. These theories tend
to deny God’s involvement and often His very existence.
Marble Canyon as seen from the rim
But, if we look at the Canyon through the eyes of a Biblical, or
Scriptural, geologist (those that accept the Bible as the basis for their worldview), we will see a very different
Canyon. These geologists see a young canyon carved catastrophically by a massive amount of water shortly
after the global flood of Noah’s day.
When we break down the two theories of how the Grand Canyon was formed, it seems that the biggest
difference is the amount of time and water. For the evolutionists’ view is that a little bit of water eroded the
Canyon over a long period of time, while the creationists’ view is that a whole lot of water, over a relatively
short amount of time cut the Canyon through the layers, most of which were laid down by the Flood.
But really, the biggest difference between the two models is in how the layers were formed in the first place.
Was it millions of years of slow, particle-at-a-time deposition, or catastrophic deposition during a global flood?
So is there evidence to support a Biblical model? Yes. Let’s briefly examine a few of the areas which support
that worldview.
According to the Biblical model, the vast majority of the sedimentary layers we see in the Grand Canyon, and in
the rest of the world for that matter, were deposited as the result of a global flood that occurred after, and
ultimately as a result of, the initial sin that took place in the Garden of Eden.
The picture below is Monument Fold in the Tapeats Sandstone, near the bottom of the Canyon. It is an example
of the folding that is found in the sedimentary rock layers of the Canyon. Folding is one of the strongest
evidences of the Canyon layers being flood deposits. You can plainly see here that the rock is bent, or as the
geologist would say, “folded.” Notice that this folding has
taken place without cracking the rock. There are several places
in the Canyon where sedimentary layers are found that have
been folded while still soft. Folds like this indicate that the
folding had to happen soon after deposition, indicating that the
deposition and the upheaval responsible for the folding were in
fact one event. Within this model, that event would be Noah’s
Flood, and the catastrophic events that occurred during the
onset and recession thereof. Also, the folding of these layers
obviously contradicts the evolutionary argument that they were
formed one particle at a time, over millions of years.
Monument Fold in the Tapeats Sandstone
Another area that supports the Biblical model is the contact lines between the layers themselves. When
evolutionists look at this contact point between the Coconino Sandstone and the Hermit Shale, as seen to the
right, they see 5 to 10 million years of “missing” time and material.
But the creationist, using the Biblical model, doesn’t
see “missing” material at all. They see classic flood
geology, only on a scale so large that it boggles the
mind of the evolutionist.
Note the knife-edge line of the contact point, and this
contact is the same through the length of the Canyon. If
this contact represents millions years of missing
material, why don’t we see any sign of either physical
or chemical erosion between the layers?
The fossil record also supports the Biblical model,
which indicates that the fossils found in the rock layers
are remnants of the plants and animals that perished in
the Flood.
Contact point between the Coconino
Sandstone and the Hermit Shale
An evolutionary interpretation of the fossil record
requires millions of years. But adding millions of years
to the Bible requires death before sin. Not only death, but pain, disease and suffering – is that the kind of world
the Lord would have described as “very good?” If plants and animals have in fact “evolved” slowly over time,
why don’t we find the intermediate forms of life one would expect in the fossil record? But we don't. What we
find are complex, fully developed, fully functional creatures right from their very first appearance.
Billions of fossilized Nautiloids are found in a six-foot thick layer at the base of the massive Redwall limestone
formation, which is as much as 500 feet thick. This extraordinary layer persists throughout most of the Grand
Canyon region, northern Arizona and southern Nevada. The fossil bed occupies an area of at least 5,700 square
miles and contains an average of one fossilized Nautiloid per square yard.
Nautiloids had a conical shaped shell and were related to the current day
squid and octopus. They averaged about 18 inches in length, but
reached as much as five feet. Some of these fossils are found suspended
vertically within the sedimentary layer. This is additional evidence that
at least this layer was formed quickly, not over millions of years, since
the exposed Nautiloids would have decomposed and vanished long
before being covered and fossilized.
Fossilized Nautiloid
Dr. Steve Austin, with the Institute for Creation Research, has studied the Nautiloid bed for over 20 years. He
says, “The existence of the Nautiloid fossils in such enormous quantities in such a relatively thin layer is further
evidence that the layers of the Grand Canyon are in fact flood deposits – deposits from a flood of truly
catastrophic proportions. Such a flood is described in the Bible, the Flood of Noah’s day.”
So does this “prove” the Grand Canyon is the result of a global flood or how it was formed? No. It does show,
however, that there is a legitimate, scientific alternative to the evolutionary dogma that has permeated our
society.
As to the “why” of the Grand Canyon, that is
even more speculative. The Canyon is often
called “Exhibit A” in support of a young earth.
But exactly why the Lord created this
magnificent place is the question. The Bible
says; “For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are
without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) and the Grand
Canyon confirms that. What we see in the
canyon only supports and upholds what we read
in the Word of God. And only from down in the
Canyon can so much of it be seen.
The inner gorge of Grand Canyon
So is the Grand Canyon there to provide the skeptic with evidence that may be “clearly seen” if only they were
willing to see? The heart of the issue is clearly addressed in Colossians 2:8 which reads, “See to it that no one
takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” It is the elementary principles of the
world (or those of man) that have developed the evolutionary theories that reject the Word of God and God
3
Himself.
The bedrock issue is not what God “could have done.” He could have done it any of a million ways. The issue
is what God said He did in His Word, and the Grand Canyon is a awesome spectacle of what He said He did.
So the next time you view the Grand Canyon, remember that it is the result of God’s judgment of the world, not
just His creative design. As with everything around us, a simplistic “God made this” is really inadequate, as
what we see today is not the world He originally made, as it has all been corrupted as a result of the curse on all
creation – Noah’s Flood.
You can trust God’s Word, right from the very first verse, and the Grand Canyon is one of His most magnificent
examples of that fact.
Tom Vail is the author of Grand Canyon, a Different View. He
welcomes opportunities to share the Biblical message of the Grand
Canyon. He is a 27 year veteran of guiding in the Canyon and with his
wife, Paula, runs Canyon Ministries, which provides Christ-centered
rafting trips through the Grand Canyon. You can find out more about
their ministry and how to join them on one of their Grand Canyon trips
at www.CanyonMinistries.com.