The Formation of The Wave at South Coyote Buttes

The Wave is a spectacular sandstone rock formation in the Coyote Buttes area of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the border of Arizona and Utah. This undulating, swirling formation is a product of long-term geological processes. Its striking appearance comes from the erosion of Navajo Sandstone, which dates back to the Jurassic period, approximately 190 million years ago. At that time, the area was a vast desert of shifting sand dunes. Over millions of years, these dunes were buried and lithified, or turned into stone. The characteristic cross-bedding and alternating layers of sand grains are evidence of these ancient wind-driven environments.

The unique wave-like shapes were carved by wind and infrequent water runoff eroding these layers at different rates. The varying hardness of the sandstone layers due to differing mineral content, such as iron oxides that give the rock its vibrant colors caused differential erosion. Softer layers eroded more quickly, creating troughs, while harder layers remained, forming the distinctive ridges. This slow, continuous process, occurring over immense periods of time, sculpted the fragile and intricate features seen today.

A global flood, as described in Young Earth Creationism (YEC), could not have caused this formation. 

A catastrophic, half -year-long flood would deposit sediments in a chaotic manner, not in the distinct, organized layers and cross-bedding patterns seen in The Wave's sandstone. Such a flood would also have been a wet, saturated environment, but formations like The Wave show clear evidence of ancient desert conditions, including fossilized sand dunes and redbeds that require dry, oxidizing conditions to form. The delicate ridges and fragile nature of the rock would also not have survived the churning, violent forces of a global deluge; they would have been destroyed or washed away. The immense time required for differential erosion to sculpt The Wave is completely incompatible with the short, catastrophic timeline of flood geology.

The use of Genesis 7's "fountains of the great deep" by YEC to explain geological features like this is a prime example of eisegesis. This is the practice of reading one's own biases and presuppositions into a text, rather than drawing the meaning out of it (exegesis). Instead of letting the text's original context and meaning guide their understanding, YEC proponents force the text to align with a predetermined scientific conclusion in this case, using a single biblical phrase to justify a pseudoscientific model of geology.

Old Earth Creationism (OEC) accommodates the vast timescale by interpreting the "days" of Genesis as long epochs of time, not literal 24-hour periods. This is referred to as the "day-age" theory. This view suggests that the biblical account describes God's creative work over immense spans of time, which aligns with modern geological and astronomical evidence.

Some argue that the numbered days in Genesis, described using the Hebrew word "yom," necessitate 24-hour periods. They claim "yom" with a number always refers to a literal day. However, Hosea 6:2 challenges this rigid interpretation. In this verse, "yom" is used with numbers ("two days," "third day") to describe God's future restoration of Israel. This restoration clearly spans a much longer period than 24 hours, as it refers to a significant event in Israel's history. This demonstrates that "yom" with a number can have a flexible meaning, encompassing longer timeframes depending on the context. Therefore, insisting on a literal 24-hour day for every instance of "yom" in Genesis, even when the context suggests otherwise, is an overly restrictive interpretation.

Job 9:5 OEC views this as slow mountain movement and is exegetical because it aligns with a scientific understanding that they believe is also supported by other parts of the Bible. "He moves mountains without their knowing it": The phrase "without their knowing it" is key. An OEC interpreter might argue this isn't just a poetic flourish but a literal descriptor of the slowness and imperceptibility of the process. For humans, and even for the mountains themselves, tectonic plate movement and geological changes are so gradual that they are unnoticeable on a human timescale. "And overturns them in his anger": This could be interpreted as a reference to more dramatic, yet still natural, geological events like earthquakes, volcanoes, and the folding of rock strata during mountain formation. These events, while more sudden than slow plate movement, are still part of a larger, God-ordained process. Harmony between Scripture and Science: OEC proponents believe that the Bible is a divinely inspired book of truth, and that science, when properly understood, is also a valid way to understand God's creation. They would argue that this interpretation of Job 9:5 is an example of the two sources of truth, the Bible and the natural world harmonizing perfectly. By finding a scientific parallel in a poetic text, they are not forcing a modern idea onto an ancient text (eisegesis), but rather discovering a deeper meaning that was there all along, and only revealed by modern scientific understanding (exegesis).

Old Earth Creationism relates to God's glory by affirming that God's power and creativity are displayed not only in the final product but also in the grand, long-term processes of creation. The immense scale of the universe and the billions of years of Earth's history, as revealed through science, can be seen as a testament to God's patient and masterful work, which is far more magnificent than a short, instantaneous creation. This view holds that God's glory is revealed through both the book of Scripture and the book of nature.

The following video discusses The Wave in Arizona and how it was formed. The Wave, Arizona