sted only 371-376 days.
- Flooding has been shown to have been instrumental in disseminating seeds. The worldwide Noahic flood eventually receded, finally approximating the conditions of a local flood.
The development of the young tree utilizes shallow alluvium for germination, putting down a temporary tap root until a shallow but wide-spread root system can develop. This would make development of the mature tree easier in post-flood conditions.
Although capable of living indefinitely, the greatest age of the giant sequoia is somewhere near 4000 years old, making its reappearance on the earth about 2000 B.C.— just at the time the greatest historical authority, the Bible, puts it.
In conclusion, it would seem that the history and growing habits of the living giant sequoia fit well with the story of the flood, thus:
|1. Destroyed every living thing||1. Widespread discovery of fossils pre 2000 B.C.|
|2. Lasted approximately one year||2. Cones may remain on a tree for as long as 21 years|
|3. Receded, leaving alluvial soil and other conditions suitable for seed germination||3. Seeds need just the kind of soil the flood left|
|4. There were, no doubt, crevices and hillsides with shallow soil deposits||4. Sequoias grow mostly on granite-based residual and alluvial soil, on metamorphosed basalt, on soil derived from schistose rock|
|5. As the Noahic flood receded, it would have sown seeds just as happened in the 1880s||5. The Kaweah River area and along the tributary of Rattlesnake Creek show flood dispersals|
|6. Occurred about 2000 B.C.||6. Began growing about 4000 years ago|
Has God given us in the giant sequoia a timepiece by which we may estimate when the flood occurred? What might we discover through a more thorough investigation into the history of the giant sequoia of the Sierra Nevadas? Speaking of another kind of tree, our God once said, "Hast thou not heard how I made it long ago and formed it of ancient times?" (II Kings 19:25)
1. Richard J. Hartesveldt, joint author, The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevadas, Washington, D.C., 20240, The National Park Service, 1975, p. 58. Many authorities believe that some bristlecone pines are somewhat older than the oldest sequoias.
3. E.F. Clements, California Redwoods, 85 Bluxome St., San Francisco, California, A Mike Roberts Color Production, Berkeley, California, 94710, © 1972.
4. Hartesveldt, p. 40.
5. Asa Gray, Longeuity of Trees, quoted in Rodney Sydes Ellsworth, The Giant Sequoia, pp. 94-95; American Journal of Science, 2nd series, vol. 17, 1846-1870, reprint 1857 (pp. 440-443).
6. Ellsworth, p. 16. 9. Ellsworth, p. 21. 7. Ellsworth, pp. 16-19. 10. Hartesveldt, p. 75.
8. Ellsworth, loc. cit. 11. Ellsworth, pp. 40-43.
*Mrs. Robbins lives in Redding, California, and is a successful free-lance writer.