Page 76 - Genesis: Book of Beginnings and Science Behind it

Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten rock material. Some form on earth or below
the earth's surface. Normally, they are formed by the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. lxxvi
They make up about 15% of the Earth's land surface. lxxvii

Metamorphic rocks are rocks that arise from the transformation of existing rock types. Original rock
types, such as igneous or sedimentary rock, are subjected to heat or pressure, causing a profound
physical change or chemical change in the rock. These rocks are formed with massive amounts of dirt or
sand on top of them, creating pressure to alter their composition. Examples of metamorphic rock are
quartzite, slate, and marble. They make up about 12% of the Earth's land surface. lxxviii

Interestingly, a percentage of metamorphic rock arose from the transformation of sedimentary rock.
Since that is true, as much as 82% of the earth's surface was at one time covered with rock formed from
the sedimentation of dirt being carried by water. Again, another strong validation is that the Earth, at
one time, was covered with water.

The Geological Column – an Evolutionary Time Scale
What is the geologic column or the geologic time scale, and how does it
work? Well, the Earth's crust consists of many layers of sedimentary rock
(called "strata"). Geologists assume that each layer represents a long
period of time, typically millions of years. This is actually a secondary
assumption based upon the primary assumption of Uniformitarianism.
These layers of sedimentary rock contain billions of fossil remains, and
some of these fossils are unique to certain layers. Remember that fossils
are created by mass burial of living creatures, generally by water.

The layers are cataloged and arbitrarily arranged into a specific order (not
necessarily the order in which they are found). This order reflects the
assumption of macroevolution (the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a
common ancestor). The creatures thought to have evolved first are the oldest and are thus placed at the
bottom of the column of layers. The creatures thought to have evolved later are higher up, and so on.

A variety of fossils from each layer of strata have been chosen to be what are called "index fossils."
Index fossils are how modern scientists date the sedimentary rock layers. Paleontologists assume the
age of an index fossil by the stage of evolutionary history the fossil is assumed to be in. They guess how

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