Log Mats Answer Genesis Flood Questions

Biblical creationists rightly make much use of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, as it provides many illustrations of the Genesis Flood on a smaller scale. There are some unexpected things that were discovered later. Studying log mats led to further study that was useful.

After the eruption, logs ended up in Spirit Lake and even covered a large portion of its surface. These and other log mats (basically, floating islands) have been studied by creationists and secular scientists alike, including for animal dispersion.

Log mat on Spirit Lake, Flickr / Kelly Michals (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Misotheists have laughed at creationists for proposing that animals rafted after the Flood, but secular scientists also believe that animals have used floating logs and other conveyances to relocate. These things were huge. They were also their own ecosystems. There are several speculations by creationists about what happened after the Flood involving log mats, but these are feasible and many are based on what can be observed.

Today, a violent event will occasionally create floating log mats, like the one found in the lake at the foot of Mount Saint Helens after it erupted in 1980. Clearly, a global flood would have formed massive log mats from floating vegetation. Before the Flood, about eight to ten times as many plants and trees existed as now, based on the estimated amount of coal in the sedimentary rocks. Coal contains plants compressed by the sediments deposited on top.

To read the rest of this very interesting article, click on "Log mats solve many geological riddles."