The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

Our findings were unexpected and contrary to conclusions that have been published in the literature about the Coconino beginning with McKee’s seminal paper in 1934. The Coconino is purported to have well-sorted and well-rounded sand grains, steep cross-bed dips at the angle of repose, mechanically frosted sand grains, no mica grains, wind-ripple laminae, mud cracks at its base, raindrop prints, and vertebrate and invertebrate trackways that were made in rather dry conditions. After a widespread study of dozens of outcrops and hundreds of thin sections we found the Coconino sand is only moderately sorted and subangular to subrounded, has cross-bed dips averaging about 20°, has chemically frosted sand grains, muscovite in almost every thin section, no clear wind-ripple laminae, sand injectites at its base, features that only resemble raindrop craters in mud (not in sand) and trackways that are better explained with an underwater origin. Additionally we found that the formation contains extensive dolomite (in the form of beds, ooids, cement, clasts and rhombs), widespread parting lineation, parabolic recumbent folds, angular K-feldspar grains, interfingers with other marine formations, lacks narrow avalanche tongues (found in eolian dunes) and many other features unexpected if this were an eolian deposit. Although there is more study that can certainly be completed, we believe the evidence that the Coconino is a subaqueous deposit is substantial and will be difficult for our critics to explain in any other way. There are no modern analogs that match the precise sedimentology of the Coconino, but we believe that subaqueous sand waves may be a start in the right direction to understand how the Coconino was deposited. Instead of the Coconino being a problem for creationists, it can be one of our most powerful arguments in support of the biblical account of the Flood. There are many other similar cross-bedded sandstones in the western United States and around the world; the Coconino may be the key to unlocking their origin as well. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We would like to thank Cedarville University and Biblical Creation Trust for allowing us to invest so much of our time in studying the Coconino and related sandstones, and the Institute for Creation Research for their generous financial support of this multi-year project. We are also hugely indebted to our friends Ray Strom of Calgary Rock and Materials Services Inc. and Guy Forsythe of Crying Rocks Ministry, with whom we have spent many happy hours in the field. Thanks are also due to Stephen Cheung for processing many of the samples we collected and to several of John Whitmore’s students for contributing to the project in significant ways, notably Sarah Maithel who has continued to study the Coconino since graduating from Cedarville. REFERENCES Abbott, L., and T. Cook. 2004. 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