Global Deposits of \u3cem\u3ein situ\u3c/em\u3e Upper Cambrian microbialites: Implications for a Cohesive Model of Origins

The existence of in situ microbialites of biological origin located in upper Cambrian rocks in western Utah presents some problems for creationists as they seek to define the boundary that separates pre-Flood deposits from those that were deposited during the Flood event itself. These microbialites are extensive in nature, covering an area of at least 2600 km2, and are stacked one atop the other in multiple beds that span a thickness of at least 300 m, but could be as thick as several km (intercalated between wackestone wedges). Other microbialites found throughout similar upper Cambrian rocks in Nevada and California are most likely representative of those in western Utah. Upper Cambrian microbialite beds have also been described from other areas in North America that circumscribe what appears to be the ancient coast of the North American craton associated with Laurentia. A total of 24 different locations span North America starting in Newfoundland, traveling down to the New York area, crossing the southern United States to Texas, then moving over to the region around Utah, California and Nevada, before continuing the trail northward through Idaho, Alberta and on into the Northwest Territories of Canada. If these microbialites indeed are in situ, then they represent vast environments that require time frames greater than the one-year period of Noah’s Flood