# Did the Great Flood occur? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452 "2012-09-21T23:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/21 "2012-09-29T16:31:25Z")
Given we have [tree ring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_ring_dating) records going back 11k years, [varve](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varve) records spanning a 13k year range, and [ice cores](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cores) going back 100-200k years none of which indicate any global flooding, I’d have to say “No.” to the OP. For a global flood to have occurred and not seriously messed up Greenland’s ice sheets is not Scientifically possible. These records also throw Velikovsky-type ideas under the bus as well. (You can also add pollen cores, ocean sediments, etc., to the list if you want.) ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/22 "2012-09-29T19:24:46Z")
Might the explosion of [Thera](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_eruption) (Santorini) and the tsunami and other weather effects that followed, have inspired the myth? I’ve no idea how much credence to give the cites at the wiki, but it did mention this about stormy weather: > [@](#): > > Heavy rainstorms which devastated much of Egypt, and were described on the Tempest Stele of Ahmose I, have been attributed to short-term climatic changes caused by the Theran eruption. Though I don’t know what the consensus is for the wave height, I imagine the tsunami that accompanied the blast would have been memorable for anyone on the shore of the Eastern Mediterranean. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/23 "2012-09-29T20:49:53Z")
Another theory I have heard is a sudden flood due to the equivalent of Lake Agassiz, where an ice dam in front of a giant glacial lake in the mountains north of Mesopotamia may have let go in the good old days, toward the end of the last ice age. A huge influx of water that flooded the entire world, from one side of the valley to the other, (Thanks, Tripolar) would probably make a serious impression on a protoagricultural society. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/24 "2012-09-29T21:20:05Z")
Remember that in ancient times, an average person’s worldview was very limited. Most peasants died in the same town they were born in, maybe even the same house, and didn’t ever travel far from it unless they were chased out by invaders or tax collectors. News traveled at the speed of a walk or maybe a horse and 10 furlongs further was frightening foreign territory with foul, flatulent foreigners and dastardly dudes who acted {shudder} differently. So while a volcanic explosion or a natural dam break might be the source for some flood myths, all it takes is an annual spring river overflow coupled with some imagination and tall tale-telling to postulate a “world-wide” inundation of scary proportions. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/25 "2012-09-30T03:58:49Z")
People look at mountains and see layers of sediment. They assumed that these layers were formed by water marks. The flood myth explained these layers. Educated people realize that these lines, layers on mountains, are due to tectonic plates that have risen and become mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452/26 "2012-09-30T05:08:36Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > People look at mountains and see layers of sediment. They assumed that these layers were formed by water marks. The flood myth explained these layers. Educated people realize that these lines, layers on mountains, are due to tectonic plates that have risen and become mountains. Compare to the myths of Hyperborea, possibly inspired by finds of fossils of tropical plants and animals in regions far too cold to support such. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-great-flood-occur/635452.md?page=1)