Furnace of Creation, Cradle of Destruction: A Journey to the Birthplace of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis
ROY CHESTER
AMACOM
Furnace of Creation Cradle of Destruction
Frontispiece to Thomas Burnet’s The Sacred Theory of the Earth, published in 1681. According to the model proposed by Burnet, the antediluvian earth was a smooth ovoid, or egg, with a uniform texture. When the Flood came, sections of a weakened crust cracked open, exposing the water layer beneath. Some of the cracked crust fell into the interior and the Flood waters burst onto the surface. In this process, mountains were upturned fragments of the early crust left behind after the Deluge, and oceans were holes left where the crust broke up. This was one of the first theories on the formation of the earth’s features that attempted to reconcile the views of the Church and Science.
Furnace of Creation
Cradle of Destruction A Journey to the Birthplace of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis
Roy Chester, Ph.D.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chester, R. (Roy), 1936– Furnace of creation, cradle of destruction : a journey to the birthplace of earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis / Roy Chester. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-0920-6 ISBN-10: 0-8144-0920-2 1. Plate tectonics. 2. Continental drift. I. Title. QE511.4.C44 2008 551.1⬘36—dc22