Fossilized Animal Tracks and Trackways Date Uplift of the Appalachian Mountains

Abstract

... continued on p. 6 F ossilized animal tracksand trackways occur atmany different locations around the world. They can be used as tools, not only in animal behavioral studies, but also within the context of Flood-related events. This article will not ad-dress a comprehensive review of all the secular and creation-ist literature published on these ichnological features. Rather, I contend that fossilized animal tracks/trackways, and specifi-cally those found along the Appalachian Mountains, can assist in determining the tim-ing of tectonic uplift within the context of the global Flood. Defining tracks and trackways within a creationist geological timescale Creationist and uniformitarian scientists both agree that ani-mal tracks and trackways oc-cur in the rock record (note: I use the term “rock record ” to refer to the actual rocks and not a philosophical frame-work). Not surprisingly, the issue of age-dating the fossil-ized footprints has significance to propo-nents of Uniformitarian/Evolutionary philosophy and Young-Earth Creation the-ology. A diluvial geologic timescale has been constructed defining the rock record within biblical history (Froede, 1995, 2007a), and fossilized animal tracks and trackways are important components of such a timescale (Figure 1). Constraining track and trackway formation in biblical history The biblical chronology of Earth history indicates that winged fowl were created on Day 5 (Gen. 1:21) and that all of the re-maining animals were created on Day 6 Figure 1. This Bible-based geological timescale can be used to define the rock record consistent with Scripture (Froede, 1995, 2007c). Note the two periods of time when animal tracks/trackways could have been created and preserved (shown in orange). These geological divisions do not correspond to the uniformitarian geological timescale.