Evidence of Noah’s Flood: Fossils on Mount Everest and Global Catastrophes

Yonatan asks: "Hello. I wanted to know what evidence exists for the Flood? I understand that the waters covered the tops of the mountains, including Mount Everest, which is 9 kilometers above current sea level. That’s an unimaginable amount of water…"

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The Torah states: "And He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, from man to beast to creeping thing and to the birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noach was left, and those that were with him in the Ark" (Bereishit 7:23).

This verse describes a global flood. The commentator Ibn Ezra emphasizes in his straightforward interpretation: “…And only Noach remained, he alone and those with him. This is a complete response to those lacking knowledge among our brethren who claim the Flood did not cover the entire earth.”

Geological Evidence of Catastrophe

Scientists who study Earth’s history including geologists and paleontologists, agree that our planet has undergone global-scale catastrophes across all continents. They typically divide them into “ages” such as the Cretaceous or the Ice Age. Whatever theories they propose, the physical evidence remains, that vast layers of fossils, formed in sudden natural disasters, indicate mass extinction of animals across the world.

The most famous is the extinction of the dinosaurs: "At the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, around 50% of species disappeared… The accepted theory is that this was caused by the impact of an asteroid or comet.” (Wikipedia: Mass extinction).

Scientists cannot fully explain why the dinosaurs or countless other species vanished, but their fossilized remains found worldwide, testify to a catastrophic global event. Fossils usually form when living creatures are buried suddenly under mud and water in floods. The sheer abundance of such fossils across the earth points to massive watery cataclysms.

Marine Fossils on Mountains and Deserts

The strongest evidence is in the type of fossils: around 97% of all fossils are marine, such as shells, corals, crustaceans, and fish skeletons, found not underwater, but on dry land.

Millions of marine fossils are found in deserts like the Sahara and the Negev, and even at the peaks of the world’s tallest mountains, such as the Rocky Mountains and Mount Everest!

• The Rockies (Canada & USA): Rising up to 4,301 meters, they contain fossilized marine life, displayed today at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

• Mount Everest: At 8,848 meters above sea level, fossils of seashells and other marine life have also been discovered here.

How did seashells and fish skeletons get to the top of the Himalayas, or clams end up in the Sahara Desert? The simplest explanation is that a global flood covered the continents — even the highest mountains.

Some researchers even note that certain fossilized clams were found closed. Normally, when a clam dies naturally, its muscles decay and the shell opens. The fact that these clams remain shut suggests they died suddenly in a catastrophic flood before they could open, buried by rushing waters and heavy sediment.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Classical Jewish Commentaries

The Malbim (19th-century biblical commentator), in his commentary on Noach (Bereishit 7:23), explained that the primordial animals were destroyed in the Flood and buried deep in the earth: “…Although many of their bones, as strong as iron, remained, they were swept into valleys and swallowed in the depths of the earth by the torrent of waters… Thus when geologists dig deep and find giant bones, they are discovering the remains of those creatures destroyed in the Flood.”

The Earth’s Scars

Another piece of evidence is the very surface of our planet. Earth’s crust is scarred by immense fractures, valleys, and canyons, which many geologists attribute to colossal floods.

The Grand Canyon in Colorado for example, stretches 446 kilometers and plunges to depths of 1,857 meters. Such massive formations point to cataclysmic events of extraordinary scale.

Whether through the Bible’s testimony, marine fossils on mountaintops, mass extinctions, or the very scars of the earth’s crust, the evidence suggests a catastrophic, water-driven global event. The Torah identifies this as the Flood of Noah — an event that reshaped the earth and left its mark across history and science alike.