What caused the continents to separate?
What caused the continents to shift apart and break up Pangaea? A bout 180 million years ago the supercontinent Pangea began to break up. Scientists believe that Pangea broke apart for the same reason that the plates are moving today. The movement is caused by the convection currents that roll over in the upper zone of the mantle.
What if the continents never split?
Secondly, if the continents did not split and remained as a supercontinent called Pangaea, the world we know it will be very different. Firstly, mountain ranges like the Alps, Himalayas and Andes will not exist. Without tectonic movements, plates will not collide thus, mountain ranges will not be born.
Why did the continents split apart?
Why did the continents separate? Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth caused the continents to shift towards and apart from each other. Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics.
How might a continent split in two?
The two continents are moving away from each other at the rate of about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) per year. Rift valley s are sites where a continental landmass is ripping itself apart. Africa, for example, will eventually split along the Great Rift Valley system.
Have the Continents Shifted?
Figure 1. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is strong support for the concept of plate movement.
What Happened in the Days of Peleg?
A careful search of the context of Genesis 10:25 clearly reveals that the division of the earth refers to the dividing up of the post-Flood people on the basis of languages and families, and moving them into different geographical locations.
A Major Geographical Problem
There is also a major geographical flaw with the claim that the continents split apart in the days of Peleg. The description of the Flood of Noah’s day in Genesis 8 says that on day 150 of that global, year-long event the ark ran aground in the mountains of Ararat. We read in verses 3–4:
Further Scientific Support for Continental Shift During the Flood
There are numerous evidences that support the contention that the pre-Flood supercontinent split and the resultant continents shifted apart catastrophically during the Flood. Several of these are highlighted below.
Conclusion
Though continental division and shifting in the days of Peleg appears feasible from a superficial reading of Genesis 10:25 in isolation, this concept has some major problems associated with it for the following reasons:
Answering a Few Objections 4
1. Objection: “To start with, the Hebrew word for ‘ earth ’ in Genesis 10:25, 10:32, and 11:1 is Hebrew #776 ( erets) in the Strong’s Concordance, which says this word means earth, field, ground, land and world. In fact, the clear meaning of this Hebrew word for ‘ earth ’ .
The New Answers Book 3
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