Cataclysms and Earth History

This book explores the development of ideas and theories about enormous floods, both gradual and catastrophic and their role in fashioning the Earth's surface through the centuries, from ancient myths and classical writings, to the Restoration and the Enlightenment. It also studies the late 18th and 19th centuries, when evidence was unearthed which suggested that there had been several grand cataclysms during the course of Earth's history, the most recent of which was identified with the Noachian cataclysm. It is discussed how in the 19th century a gradual inundation of continents was proposed, an idea which was taken up by the proponents of marine regression. The author concludes by studying the possibility of catastrophic flooding has again been raised.Table of ContentIntroducing diluvialism - cataclysms, debacles and deluges; the seeds of diluvialism - floods in ancient writings; the rise of diluvialism - floods and Renaissance scholars; the development of diluvialism - floods and Restoration cosmogonists; the maturing of diluvialism - floods and Enlightenment philosophers; the high tide of diluvialism - floods and their signature; Gradualistic diluvialism - floods and non-violent history of the earth; diluvialism, debacles and climatic change - floods from lake bursts and a pluvial period; catastrophic diluvialism - floods, fast tumble and meteoric bombardment.