Subscribe
Latest Activity
-
About
Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
-
By Month
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Links
The Mystery of Upheaval Dome
Posted on June 14, 2010
Filed Under Science |
There is a strange “formation” within Canyonlands National Park called “Upheaval Dome”. The ranger told us that scientists don’t know exactly how this thing was formed.
It is a mystery.
It is as if some force reached down into the insides of the belly of the earth and sucked up the layers below into an almost teardrop shape.
From the air, evidently one can see concentric circles around the center of the dome.
It is quite an awesome sight. A friend and I hiked halfway around it to get a better perspective.
I can tell you what it looked like to me.
But you have to watch this video clip first.
After you’ve watched it, then we can talk about what may have happened at Upheaval Dome.
.
.
.
Did you watch it yet?
Okay, for those of you who didn’t watch it, you are really missing out on a very cool, slow motion shot of a drop of water hitting a pool of water. The drop penetrates the water and creates a crater, but the water then recoils back up and creates a water spout that then descends back into the water and starts the process over again, this time with a larger “drop”. There is a series of oscillations like this until the water eventually returns to normal.
Now, as I have mentioned before, my perspective is that there really was a colossal flood that ripped apart the crust of the earth and was a tsunami of tsunamis. The water was saturated with material from the crust and it was all being hydro-sorted into the sedimentary layers that we now see everywhere. So, for those of you who disagree with the premise…humor me! 
So, let’s suppose that the tumult of the flood was just starting to settle down. The layers are still wet and there is a shallow layer of water over it all. Then, out of the blue, a meteor comes zipping down and strikes the earth. We get a humongous “water drop” effect that on the recoil, sucks the wet layers of sediment up into concentric circles and the center has a series of tear-drop peaks.
Exactly what we see at Upheaval Dome!
What do you think?
Now, one of the current theories is that it was caused by a meteor strike, but if the layers were laid down over millions and millions of years, as current geological theory states, then the layers would have been solid rock and the meteor would have simply blown a crater in the surface like we see at other impact sites.
However, if the meteor struck a ‘muddy’ surface, then maybe this is exactly what we would have gotten from it.
I would like to build a large tank, simulate the hydro-sorting of several densities of soil types and colors (so we can observe what happens to them) and then shoot a musket ball into the middle of it to see what happens to the mud layers underneath.
That would be a fascinating thing to do!
We’ll take a slow-motion video of the whole thing and test the theory!
Does any one have a very large aquarium that they aren’t using? (I can’t guarantee the shape it will be in after the test…chock it up to the cost of scientific experimentation. If the musket ball blows the aquarium apart, we can submit the video to America’s Funniest Videos.)
P.S. Here is an aerial view of the dome. You can see the concentric circles and, on the right, what appears to be an outlet where water washed out the sides of the crater.
Thanks for you comments pointing me to this. I didn’t take the picture! And, I don’t have a citation to credit the one who did.
Comments
42 Responses to “The Mystery of Upheaval Dome”
Leave a Reply
Comments are moderated and will not appear until they've been approved. While we are eager to facilitate conversation by publishing most comments, we may withhold one from time to time if we deem it to be inappropriate, i.e. offensive, vulgar, overly personal, cynical, disrespectful, irrelevant, redundant or unnecessarily contentious (what a list, huh?). Check it over for spelling and grammar before you submit so that nothing will hinder your eloquence!
Sounds like a good theory. Instead of an aquarium, how about a childs plastic swimming pool? A musket ball would be good. You could vary the speed of the ball eaiser and calculate how fast a meteor would have to be traveling to make the doom with the differant water to mud ratio.:o)
Great idea! It sounds like something that Discovery Channel’s “MythBusters” could do.
Dell:
There must have been a very signifcant flood that that carved out the grand canyon and left all of those rocks suspended high above the desert floor in the South West. Seems to kind of defy the logic that what is today the Colorado river could have performed all that erosion over millions of years based upon its present flow rate and volume as evolutionists and geologists would have us believe.
The dome landmark you described could well have once been been a large puddle of mud that was impacted by some object from space such as a meteorite or a small astroid if that’s what your proposing.
As far as big aquarium goes, I think the department of the Navy has some really big aquariums for testing scale models of ships, as does the Army Corps of Engineers. Perhaps with your connections you can get them on board and then also contact the guys at Myth Busters, they seem to have a large budget at their disposal. Their audience could surely benefit from a bit of bible history.
My wife and I are really enjoying the Truth Project Tour, that is an excellent piece of work. I was also wondering if you wanted to start a new thread regarding some other biblical “Truths” such as “Where are the lost tribes of Israel today?”, in particular I am curious about Ephriam and Manasseh, the sons Joseph had to his Egyptian wife while living in Egypt and upon whom Jacob (Israel) bestowed the birthright blessings given by God to Arbraham, given to Issac by Abraham, and given to Jacob by Issac through trickery. I look forward to following that blog in the future.
Sincerely,
Eric
Actually Del,
We’ve sort of had that experiment done on a large, large scale, with a few types of action including volcanism, flooding, turbidity current deposition, peat bog formation and a whole lot more. It’s what happened during the eruption at Mt Saint Helen’s in combination with its close proximity to Spirit Lake. Several formations that should have taken millennia to lay down (by uniformitarian geological theory any way) were formed in a few weeks. And God made sure we all had front row seats. Dr. Austin does a fabulous job laying that all out.
If you get that large tank, I’d love to see the YouTube video of it, especially if you can do it in super slo mo like the video you linked to.
There are amazing things happening all around us if we’ll just stop to watch. Of course a camera that can catch all the detail helps.
Chris
I agree with Harold, a swimming pool of some sort is the way to go. While your at it drop a bowling ball in it too
When you have craters like that on Mars, they are called “splosh craters” (with variations) and usually you then have a very distinctive ejecta blanket. Do you have that pattern here?
Suitably, those happened during the Martian Noachian epoch.
I think that a a square shaped flower bed would be better. Build it about 6ft high. Line it with the stuff they line ponds with. 4ft dirt,(different layers. i.e. sand, dirt, gravel, clay) the rest saturate with water. Try to pack the dirt layers first. I think that a drain in the bottom of the tank is a must. We need to think of the earth draining itself of water. The ground absorbed the water and many of our underground rivers were formed. The blast from the meteor or volcanic debris would have weakened the earth’s crust. The musket ball will do the same. I think you can rent a compacter(they use them on baseball fields and newly laid turf).
I’m compelled to think that fossils were created all at once during the flood. Thoughts?
I totally did not understand what you were describing until I googled “arial photo of upheaval dome”. Now I see it. Pretty neat.
Look at Upheaval Dome with Google Earth and just search for Upheaval Dome, Moab, Ut. It will take you right there and you can really see the dome plus look at elevations. Turn on the sun angle and set it for dusk or dawn. It is very cool and obvious what it looks like. People have posted a lot more photos of it there.
Jason
Can’t wait to see that video!
I would love to see this area. Your theory sounds very logical and feasible in light of the world wide flood. When you consider the proportion of a meteorite hitting the area and making a huge splash, you could use an air soft gun and a bucket of plaster of paris (color it with food coloring and then make different colored thin layers). Not only was the splash made but then it hardened while still in the splash shape. Perhapes the heat of the meteorite caused it to dry quickly???
What REALLY blows my mind is that all the death that came at the flood was not only a picture of what God thinks of evil, but it was also His way of providing vast energy resources for our present day. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
– Rom 11:33 NASB
Interesting theory. It definitely is a mystery of how it got there. Seems like it would’ve had to have been a large meteor to make that dent though. I’m looking forward to the Youtube of your experiment.
Dr. Tackett,
It is my sincere hope that this email finds you well and thank you so much for sharing these awesome photographs and your insight. It truly is rewarding to get to experience along with you your great adventures.
It is not my gaol to humor you here but to agree (smiling), Amen!
I couldn’t help but think about how you shared with us God’s design, ( with fear and trembling ) when you diagrammed on the finite board with a finite dry erase marker God’s awesome design in 3’s.
Expanding on the 3’s in science is simply fascinating !!! and looking at the three spheres of God’s creation ……… Geosphere …….. Atmosphere and …… Hydrosphere. The element of water has three states it can be a solid ….. liquid ……. gas. Awesome!!! Yes God has made it plain to see.
I especially enjoyed the slow motion of the water drop how cool was that !! I would like to use it in my water training classes since that is an area of great interest to me.
Thank you Lord Jesus that you are the living water and that we may come to you and drink and whoever believes in you , as the scriptures has said ” ‘ out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” your word is Truth !
God’s continued grace mercy and rich blessing’s to you and yours, safe travels in him!
in his love
~jps
ps oh ……I almost forgot to share this story whilst living on the island of Kauai some years ago, I was fortunate to explore the Na Pali coast on the North Shore and Honopu Valley, the story goes that there was a lost tribe and appropriately than named “Valley of the Lost Tribe”. The tribe simply disappeared, it is not hard to deduce what event that would cause such an occurrence ……… flood!!! the link here will show the awesome erosion of water wind and waves…….. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honop?_Valley
Dr. Tackett,
Don’t understand why my link did not work in my previous reply, though this link and picture is much better showing the Na Pali coast and where the the valley of the lost tribe.
http://gnosys.com.au/d2/images/NaPaliCoast.jpg
Hi Del,
To be upfront, I’m a Christian who was raised as a young earth creationist but in my adult years I’ve changed my views on how God made us. However, I will respectfully humor you as you requested and I will assume that there were flood waters saturated with sediment that was being hydro sorted and that a meteor struck the surface of the water while the sediments were still soft, causing the shape we see.
The formation of the upheaval dome isn’t a mystery. It was a mystery ten years ago when the competing theories for its origins were meteor impact and salt diapir. Science is based on the evidence, and while the evidence strongly indicated an impact site, there were a few pieces of evidence missing, and that is why its origins were a “mystery”. (See final paragraph in footnote 1)
But in 2008 shocked quartz grains were discovered which solidified the impact theory as the dominant theory. (2)(3) So while the formation is no longer a mystery, the evidence does suggest a high velocity impact, much like what you are suggesting.
If you want to make sense of this geological feature using a flood model and soft sediments, you are going to have to do a lot more than recreate its shape in a pool of soft sediment and water using a musket ball.
First you will have to account for the salt deposit 500 m below the surface. (5) How could a flood, with its turbulent waters, deposit that much salt in such a high concentration below the other sediments? Why don’t we find salt in the sediments above that? Wouldn’t the flood waters have had salt in them that would be mixed in, at least in a small proportion, with the sediment that was laid down?
If hydraulic sorting is the cause of how these sediments were laid down, how were alternating layers of sandstone, shale, and then sandstone laid down? (page 3 of footnote (1)) And why don’t we see graded bedding? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graded_bedding)
Finally, the evidence for an impact is consistent with solidified sediments. You’ll have to explain why we see the shattering effects that we do if the sediments were soft. You’ll also have to explain why the sediments are consistent with the morphing of solid rocks and why, if the sediments were soft, they didn’t settle back down and even themselves out after the impact. Keep in mind that during a global flood, which would already have turbulent waters, a meteor impact would make the water very rough, which would likely level off any kind of ripple marks from the impact made in soft sediment.
If you need help putting your case together you can check out the Traces of Catastrophe handbook for a guide to what you can expect to see in various circumstances. (4) There are scores of other papers I could refer you too, but google will help you find more if you wish to be thorough.
There’s one final thing you’ll have to do. If you can make a case for an impact in water, you’ll have to explain how that means there was a global flood, and it wasn’t just a local sea.
I’m curious to see how far you can take your hypothesis.
(1) http://www.utahgeology.org/pub28_pdf_files/UpheavalDome.pdf
(2) http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/11/upheaval-dome-utah.html
(3) http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/36/3/227
(4) http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/CB-954/CB-954.intro.html
(5) http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1999/1998JE000587.shtml
“…on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth…”
In the interest of parsimony, perhaps this is one of the surviving mouths of the fountains cited in Genesis 7?
(But your story is much more intriguing, and more testable as well…).
Del,
Sounds like you have a challenge on your hand. It might be beneficial to distinguish between pre, mid and post flood activities.
This event would have happened as the water level dropped toward the end of the flood and the muddy layers were left.
Remember, the event of the flood lasted over a year. That’s a lot of time for the earth to change. It only took 30 minutes for my sprinklers to create a ravine down my gravel driveway when the line broke.
Well, Phil, with such good research you’ve done on upheaval dome it’s evident you’re a good researcher, can you explain to me why there is a Rhinoceros in the hillside of Blue Lake, WA if there wasn’t a world-wide flood?
Thanks,
Tamara
After having taken a class on the book of Genesis through Precept Ministries with Kurt Wise, PhD in Geology, I would love to hear his response to the items above. Anybody have any connections to Dr. Wise? Last I knew, he was teaching at Bryan College in Tennessee…
This is really fascinating? What if, as the earth’s surface was drying out and muddy after the great flood, a huge tear (salty) fell from the face of God, as he mourned the loss fallen mankind?
Hello Del,
Sounds fun at the very least! When I first saw the photos, I wondered if you were going to say it might have been an upheaval point where ‘the fountains of the deep” spouted, at least for a short duration. Instead of an impact from above, one from beneath, followed by rapid erosion till pressures shifted to another region.
Shocked Quartz…maybe from being shoved up through the earth?
Salt, maybe from below or the water source?
Whatever, God makes cool mysteries!
This sounds like a good one to call in the myth busters on!
I Love the thought of Laurie’s post - about the giant tear of God… But I also like the theory that Doc B brought up… it’s biblical and makes a lot of sense.
But, Del, I think you have a big challenge ahead of you… can’t wait to see the results. God bless you for your ministry to us!
Del, send it to Mythbusters and they will do it. interesting premise and I would like to see if it works. blessings, Bob
What if it was not a drop or impact but a large air bubble that came up from underneath the muddy area and popped? I guess either scenario would cause the current landscape.
Dr. Tackett
As you know there are mud pits in several places on this earth. Yellowstone being just one of them. If a meteorite hit one of these places, I think it would produce the same effect. This area may have been one and then when the meteorite hit there was a change of drying up in the area. A study of Mt St. Helens is a good example of change.
In His service
Don
I thought “the teardrop” thing too…perhaps it came from seeing The Passion movie where God’s tears drop to the ground as his Son is on the cross for our sin.
ps..LOVED “The Truth Project” !!!
The basin in Middlesboro, KY is situated is a similar type phenomenon. It has been suggested that it was formed by a meteor falling and causing the similar type of formation. However is is next to a mountain, Cumberland Mt. I read in a geology book, there are several of these types of formations.
I have to say I wish I would’ve had a science teacher like you! This is not my subject but that sure does sound fun! Keep us posted on how your theory holds up and would love to see the video!!
HOW ABOUT MITHBUSTERS ON DISCOVER CHANNEL?? THEY DO STUFF LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME.
Dr. Tackett,
I enjoy doing some teaching on the Genesis Flood and dinosaurs, so this picture and your proposed model are quite interesting. A picture I saw on the park website shows the formation of a canyon flowing out from the direction you pointed out, so we are looking at a great deal of water (including rocks, dirt and debris to form the canyon). Something this large scale would have to be formed during the runoff period after the Genesis flood. I do not know about the asteroid theory you suggested, but the canyon(s) certainly appears to be two events (even if they occured one after another). If have always thought of the “fountains of the deep” (Gen 7:11) as breaking through and forming long, oontinuous cracks in the earth’s crust such as we see in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, but what about this? This canyon was formed by two blasts of sub-crust magma that did not form a crack, but a hole. The first blast made the outer ring and then it settled for a short time allowing some sediment to settle back into the new hole (all of this would’ve been under water). Then a second sub-crust blast, smaller in size would’ve opened up the second hole and then sediment would’ve resettled. After the flood waters have drained off, one edge of the canyon breaks and causes a cascade of water/sediment to create the side canyon. Something similar to what happened at Mt Saint Helens in 1980 when pyroclastic flows created new canyons in days. With the final hump currently sitting in the middle of the canyon it looks more like volcanic activity than meteor. But that is just my opinion looking at photos.
Thank you for provoking such thought today.
Blessings,
Tommy
I would watch your video of your experiment,but I don’t care if a meteor made it or not. It’s just cool! A neat thing for God to put in our country!
what’s more interesting to me is how excited you all are about this..isn’t God wonderful in how he created us to be inquisitive, seekers of knowledge, and how we long to communicate and share our discoveries..my observation, Terri
Hi Del, we love the truth project and I was interested in seeing the video once I saw the aerial photo of the dome. I was actually quite confused about the video clip and discussions because, what I saw in the aerial shot was a close proximity to a womb, and was thinking on those lines when I viewed the clip. All the discussions were really interesting but, I was excited about the idea of it representing birth and genesis and ideas along that line that God is challenging us. Thanks so much for your insights and the exploring of God’s world and truth. Teena
Del,
Inquiring minds want to KNOW. Please follow through and keep us posted.
Thanks for opening hearts and minds with the Truth.
In Christ
Barb
Thank you, Del, for sharing all these wonderful “creative” and interesting sights you have visited on God’s planet earth. Perhaps the TV show “Mythbusters” would take this on!
I see a problem with the theory (although quite thoughtful). The major reason why we see the behavior of the water droplet is due to water cohesion or hydrostatic properties of water. On a larger scale, this behavior is less of a factor. The water most likely would have been vaporized, instead of exhibiting the beautiful properties of water on the smaller scale.
Thanks for the email. God created the properties of water to make life on our planet possible. (Like the earth was actually made for us to live on). What a coincidence! ; )
Matthew
my theory is that it is the teardrop of God mourning for His people who have gone astray.
Dear Del et al
Please look at a map of Quebec Province in my country of Canada - in south-central Quebec you will find Reservoir Manicouagan which is shaped in a very curious pattern to be considered random…it appears to be the result of some particular event for which I would like to hear an explanation.
Reference Response/Reply #3 by Eric Keim, on 06-15-2010 :
Dear Eric,
Your question regarding “Where the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel - particularly your curiousity regarding the present day identity of two of them; Ephriam and Manasseh.
When you reread the biblical blessings conferred on each, then it should become clear to you that Ephriam is England and Manasseh is the United States.
Sincerely,
Todd
When I say it I thought of the movie “Passion of the Christ” after Jesus is crucified….a solitary tear drop comes from heaven….that is what this hole looks like to me…Maybe it was His teardrop….weeping for His Son or maybe for me….