Atacama Desert Fossil Assemblage Discovery Gives Evidence of Genesis Flood
In 2010, scientists discovered a “graveyard” of diverse fossil skeletons, including many whale fossil skeletons, at a highway construction site in Chile’s Atacama Desert located a kilometer from the Pacific Coast and 40 meters above sea level. The location is named Cerro Ballena, or Whale Hill. The scientists believe a storm washed the fossil species ashore five million years ago and died after contacting with an accumulation of toxic algae microorganisms. However, the fossil discovery in Atacama Desert gives great evidence of the Flood and its effects. Diverse marine mammal fossils were found at the site including seals, dolphins, and aquatic sloths along with extinct marine species. Many of the fossil skeletons found were fully complete or close to complete. The site has been named the most diverse marine mammal fossil site in the world and is believed by mainstream scientists to have occurred in four separate events over 10,000 years. The fossils were found buried inside sandstone layers 40 meters above current sea level, requiring a difficult explanation from mainstream science of the method in which the burial happened. Scientists describe this fossil discovery as "one of the largest and most diverse in the world.”
Mainstream scientists believe that there were several episodes or events that caused the fossilization because the fossils were found in several different layers. However, creationists believe that these layers represent the multiple stages of the year long Genesis Flood and its fluctuating floodwaters during the flooding event. Many of the whales found at the site were buried "belly up," leading the mainstream scientists to postulate that the whales died before being transported to their final resting place in the Atacama Desert. The mainstream scientists believe that the wales and other mammals were poisoned somehow, possibly by an algal bloom, before being buried. However, the poisoning before burial does not explain how the whales and other mammals were buried 40 meters above sea level in the desert. The processes of the Genesis Flood could better explain the death of these marine mammals. As the Flood covered the entire Earth, these mammals were swimming in the waters above the continents. Then as the continents were uplifted and the floodwaters receded, these mammals were buried in thick layers of sediment deposited by the floodwaters. The catastrophic conditions of the Flood, such as rampant volcanic activity and large sediment movements could also have contributed to the death of the mammals in the sea as incredibly large surges of ocean water was transported and as tectonic movements during the Flood uplifted the Earth's crust.
Evolutionists claim that these fossils were sitting on the seafloor for millions of years before strong storm surges transported them onto higher ground. However, evolutionists cannot explain how these fossils were buried under thick layers of sediment 40 meters above current sea level. Many of the fossilized whale skeletons remain in near complete form and could not have been sitting on the seafloor for millions of years undisturbed without decomposing and being destroyed by scavengers. The recognition of the Genesis Flood event less than 5,000 years ago explains how these marine animals could have been buried catastrophically 40 meters above current sea level as the floodwaters receded from the continental land surface. Creationists also dispute the claim of poisoning by algal bloom, and explain that there is not enough evidence to conclude that this was the cause of death of the whales. While evolutionists also claim that strong storm surges could have transported the fossils to the higher elevation desert, the large number and diversity of the fossil accumulation, which is one of the most diverse in the world, gives strong evidence of a much larger catastrophic event that deposited the fossils: the global Genesis Flood. While evolutionists and mainstream scientists believe that they have "solved" the mystery of this large fossil discovery, their refusal to accept the global Genesis Flood keeps them from realizing a better and more likely explanation for the burial and fossilization of these marine mammals.
Amos, Jonathan, BBC. Chile's Stunning Fossil Whale Graveyard Explained. February 26, 2014.
The Guardian. Whale Graveyard Shows Mass Stranding of Species Millions of Years Ago. February 26, 2014.
CBC News. Desert Whale Graveyard Mystery Solved. February 27, 2014.
BioWeb. The enigma of Chile’s whale fossil graveyard finally explained. May 5, 2017.
Mainstream scientists believe that there were several episodes or events that caused the fossilization because the fossils were found in several different layers. However, creationists believe that these layers represent the multiple stages of the year long Genesis Flood and its fluctuating floodwaters during the flooding event. Many of the whales found at the site were buried "belly up," leading the mainstream scientists to postulate that the whales died before being transported to their final resting place in the Atacama Desert. The mainstream scientists believe that the wales and other mammals were poisoned somehow, possibly by an algal bloom, before being buried. However, the poisoning before burial does not explain how the whales and other mammals were buried 40 meters above sea level in the desert. The processes of the Genesis Flood could better explain the death of these marine mammals. As the Flood covered the entire Earth, these mammals were swimming in the waters above the continents. Then as the continents were uplifted and the floodwaters receded, these mammals were buried in thick layers of sediment deposited by the floodwaters. The catastrophic conditions of the Flood, such as rampant volcanic activity and large sediment movements could also have contributed to the death of the mammals in the sea as incredibly large surges of ocean water was transported and as tectonic movements during the Flood uplifted the Earth's crust.
Evolutionists claim that these fossils were sitting on the seafloor for millions of years before strong storm surges transported them onto higher ground. However, evolutionists cannot explain how these fossils were buried under thick layers of sediment 40 meters above current sea level. Many of the fossilized whale skeletons remain in near complete form and could not have been sitting on the seafloor for millions of years undisturbed without decomposing and being destroyed by scavengers. The recognition of the Genesis Flood event less than 5,000 years ago explains how these marine animals could have been buried catastrophically 40 meters above current sea level as the floodwaters receded from the continental land surface. Creationists also dispute the claim of poisoning by algal bloom, and explain that there is not enough evidence to conclude that this was the cause of death of the whales. While evolutionists also claim that strong storm surges could have transported the fossils to the higher elevation desert, the large number and diversity of the fossil accumulation, which is one of the most diverse in the world, gives strong evidence of a much larger catastrophic event that deposited the fossils: the global Genesis Flood. While evolutionists and mainstream scientists believe that they have "solved" the mystery of this large fossil discovery, their refusal to accept the global Genesis Flood keeps them from realizing a better and more likely explanation for the burial and fossilization of these marine mammals.
Amos, Jonathan, BBC. Chile's Stunning Fossil Whale Graveyard Explained. February 26, 2014.
The Guardian. Whale Graveyard Shows Mass Stranding of Species Millions of Years Ago. February 26, 2014.
CBC News. Desert Whale Graveyard Mystery Solved. February 27, 2014.
BioWeb. The enigma of Chile’s whale fossil graveyard finally explained. May 5, 2017.
