Introduction

According to the United State Geological Survey: "Plate Tectonics is the theory supported by a wide range of evidence that considers the earth's crust and upper mantle to be composed of several large, thin, relatively rigid plates that move relative to one another. Slip on faults that define the plate boundaries commonly results in earthquakes. Several styles of faults bound the plates, including thrust faults along which plate material is subducted or consumed in the mantle, oceanic spreading ridges along which new crustal material is produced, and transform faults that accommodate horizontal slip (strike slip) between adjoining plates."

Plate Tectonics and Volcanism

Volcanic explosions are releases of pressure by the earth's core, occurring at points where the earth's crust is still thin enough to provide outlets for volcanic release. Faults between earth's plates provide a similar outlet to volcanoes: release of pressure. As plates move over a core of lava, they are searching for an equilibrium between the stress of the gravity above, the volcanism below, and the neighboring plates each attemping to do the same. The movement that results will promote equilibrium between the plates along one fault for a time, but not without changing the equilibrium along another fault. It is a cycle that we still see at play today. We call them earthquakes, and they are God's way of building mountains.

As plates move over time, they may cover volcanic fissures. This may close off a volcano's outlet over time, but only until the pressure builds and another explosion occurs. The islands of Hawaii were built this way. As a mound of a lava built up over millenium, it would slowly move off the volcanic fissure, and another island would begin. So, we see that volcanism and plate tectonics work together over time, creating the islands, mountains, and land masses we see today.

Before the Mountains

Before plate tectonics, there were no mountains. There were no continents. There were no islands. The earth's crust was essentially a sphere submerged in water. The crust was still hardening. The volcanism within the earth's mantel created pressure as gas (H2O, sulfer, carbon, etc.) was pushed through it. This is in large part how the deep first formed.

As more and more water gathered, the earth cooled down, the crust hardened, and the gas had a harder and harder time pushing out... but it was also producing less of it. This provided time for the crust to get thicker, while also building up pressure within. Then, on Creation Day 3, God told Jesus to let dry land appear. And it did, violently. Psalm 104:7 goes so far as to call it a rebuke against the waters. Job 38:11 quotes God as telling the seas, "This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt." There is no subtlety here. It is almost like Jesus was holding back until now.

The Beginning of the Plate Tectonics

It is tempting to call Day 3 the beginning of Plate Tectonics, the day when Jesus let dry land finally appear. In fact, if you search the GeoCreationism blog, you will find that I do exactly that. However, that is not what scripture says. Psalm 104:6 corresponds to Day 1 and Day 2. In the first half of the verse, clouds covered the deep. In the second half, the deep covered the mountains. In verse 7, those mountains appeared above the waters. This tells us that Plate Tectonics began sometime before the end of Day 2. Can we hone in any more?

According to mainstream science, dry land first appeared around 2.5 Ga, during the Proterezoic, hence placing Day 3 at that time. Well, according to an article in Astrobiology Magazine, the oldest crust found by 2001 was also around 2.5 Ga. What does this tell us? That plate tectonics began toward the end of Day 2, and dry land appeared soon afterward, on Day 3.