Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat (Hebrew: אררט, ʼArārāṭ; Armenian: Արարատ, Ararat; Turkish: Ağrı Dağı[1]) (Coordinates::39°43'1.62"N; 44°17'28.55"E) is a volcanic mountain located in eastern Turkey, and one of the largest by volume in the world, rising to 5,165 meters or 16,945 feet. Above 14,000 feet, much of the surface is covered by an ice cap that is about 17 square miles in size and is up to 300 feet deep.
Although there are hundreds of mountains in the region, many people believe that Mt. Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark landed following the global flood. This is a twin-peaked mountain known to the Kurds as Koh-i-Nu, "mountain of Noah".[1] This assumption is based on the simple fact that it is the highest peak in that region, and the Biblical account states that the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat a full 2.5 months before the tops of the mountains were visible. This account of its landing strongly suggests a moorage upon the highest point at the time. However there are at least six other possible landing locations according to ancient traditions.[2]
"And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen." - Genesis 8:-5
It should, however, be noted that Mt. Ararat is a volcanic mountain, which probably formed during and after the global flood. Many creationists believe that, prior to the flood, the earth did not exist as a collage of shifting plates, nor did it experience the related tectonic and volcanic activities. The flood may itself have been triggered when the earth's crust was fragmented into these plates releasing subterranean water, volcanic gas, and lava. According to geologist Clifford Burdick Ph.D. much of the lava on Mt. Ararat is in rounded blocks called pillow lava indicating it flowed out while under water.(CRSQ Vol 4(1)) Other geologists state that cylindrical mountains like Little Ararat show that it is a post-flood mountain.
Although there have been numerous claims of sightings of Noah's ark througout history, there have also been a great many expeditions to Mt. Ararat to search for the ark in modern times. Despite the immense size of Mt. Ararat, it would be fair to say that there are but a few places remaining to look. If the ark indeed rests there we could conclude that it has decomposed completely, or is either buried under igneous rock, glacial ice, or perhaps mud flows which are very typical of volcanic mountains reaching these heights.
Zagros Mountains
Dr. Russell Humphreys proposed that the Biblical account suggests the mountains of Ararat may not be the same region currently attributed to the Biblical account; instead, he suggests the modern-day Zagros Mountains. Humphreys argues that based on verses such as 2 Kings 19:37, Isaiah 37:38, Genesis 8:5, and Genesis 9:20-25, and villages found archeologically, Ararat could instead extend further southeast. Also noted is the fact that scientific journals attribute the Zagros mountains to the origin of agriculture. One[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pfeiffer, Charles F (1979). Baker´s Bible Atlas. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. p. 17. ISBN 0-8010-6930-0.
- ↑ Unger, Merrill F (1988). Harrison, R. K.. ed. The New Unger´s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press. p. 92-93. ISBN 0-8024-9037-9.
- ↑ Where is Noah’s Ark? by D. Russell Humphreys, Ph.D. 12 July 2011, Journal of Creation 25(3)
Related References
- Mount Ararat by Noah's Ark Search.com
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