On an old earth, mountains would have eroded by now
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Claim
On an old earth, mountains would have eroded by now. At present rates of erosion, the continents would have been eroded to sea level in less than 15 million years.
Source
- Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Master Books, Arkansas, p. 155.
Responses
- This argument presumes that all mountains were created in the same moment when the Earth was created. As such, this argument is right up there with "that bookshelf was installed in your home last month, therefore your home must be less than one year old" in terms of accuracy and logical completeness.
- If erosion were the only force shaping mountains, then indeed they would have worn away. However, it isn't. Plate tectonics and vulcanism both form new mountains. Folded mountains (such as the Rockies and the Himalayas) are formed by one tectonic plate being forced over another. Volcanic mountains (such as the Hawaiian Islands and Oregon's Mount Hood) are formed by the ejection of lava and rock from underneath the Earth's surface.
- This claim is the mirror image of Volcanic mountains are built too fast for an old earth. The other claim ignores erosion; this one ignores the formation of mountains. The present geologic features of the Earth are formed by the interaction of many different forces -- vulcanism, erosion, plate tectonics, etc.
- Creationists who make this claim fail to also realize that different kinds of rocks and minerals have different rates of erosion.
- add more responses
Fallacies contained in this claim
- Exclusion (mountain building is ignored)
- Inconsistency (with another claim from the same source)
External Links
- Matson, Dave E., 1994. How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments? [1]
