The Fountains of the Great Deep — Geological Witnesses of the Flood
Genesis 7:11 gives a precise and dramatic description of the beginning of the global Flood:
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
This was not merely heavy rainfall. The text describes a catastrophic rupture of the Earth’s crust, releasing vast amounts of water and material from deep within the planet. Scripture calls these sources “the fountains of the great deep.”
Modern geological and geophysical discoveries reveal that this description corresponds remarkably well with what lies beneath the Earth’s surface.
The Richat Structure — A Monument of the Deep
One of the most unusual geological formations on Earth is the Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara. It is a massive circular uplift nearly 40 km across, visible even from space.
What makes this formation especially significant is its deep internal composition.
Geological surveys show that thick salt layers — in some places reaching up to 5 kilometers — lie beneath the Richat region. These salt formations are not random. They indicate powerful upward movement of material from deep below the crust.If, during the Flood, pressurized subterranean waters erupted through the crust, they would have carried dissolved salts upward, forming salt domes and massive saline deposits. The Richat Structure is surrounded by abnormal mineral and salt accumulations, fitting the biblical description of a deep rupture.
Salt Layers Beneath the Continents
Evidence from deep oil and gas drilling confirms that kilometers-thick salt formations exist beneath large parts of the continents.
A well-known example is the Brazilian Pre-Salt oil fields, where oil is trapped beneath enormous subsurface salt layers. Petroleum geologists understand that such formations require massive geological pressure and fluid movement from deep within the Earth.
These findings show that the Earth’s crust contains vast internal reservoirs of water and mineral-rich brines, capable of being released catastrophically — just as Genesis describes.A Hidden Ocean in the Mantle
Even more striking is recent geophysical research concerning the Earth’s mantle.
Studies of the mineral ringwoodite, found in the mantle’s transition zone, show that it contains chemically bound water. Scientists now estimate that the amount of water stored in this layer is at least three times greater than all the water in Earth’s oceans combined.
This water lies at depths of roughly 410–660 kilometers, forming what researchers call a global “subsurface ocean” inside the Earth.
This discovery confirms that the Earth indeed contains immense internal water reservoirs — precisely what the Bible refers to as “the great deep.”
Volcanoes and Salt Lakes — A Global Pattern
Around the world, major tectonic and volcanic regions are frequently associated with salt lakes and saline plains, suggesting that deep water and minerals have broken through the crust repeatedly.
Examples include:
- Salt Lake City (Utah, USA) — located near major tectonic and volcanic activity
- Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) — the world’s largest salt flat, adjacent to the Andes volcanic belt
- Danakil Depression (Ethiopia) — salt plains near active volcanoes
- Lake Assal (Djibouti) — one of the saltiest lakes on Earth, within an active rift zone
- The Dead Sea region (Israel/Jordan) — surrounded by deep crustal faulting
Additional volcano–salt associations:
- Mount Etna (Italy) — nearby saline springs and salt deposits
- Mount Vesuvius (Italy) — coastal salt flats in the Naples area
- Mount Ararat region (Turkey) — mineral-rich and saline landscapes
- Icelandic volcanic systems — geothermal brines and salt springs
- Mount Fuji (Japan) — saline lakes in surrounding tectonic zones
These correlations indicate that mineral-rich waters from deep within the Earth have erupted upward through crustal fractures.
The Flood Connection
Taken together, the evidence paints a clear picture:
- The Earth’s crust contains vast salt and mineral layers beneath the surface
- The mantle transition zone stores enormous quantities of water
- Geological formations like the Richat uplift reveal deep crustal ruptures
- Salt lakes and salt plains occur especially in regions of tectonic and volcanic instability
This is exactly what Genesis 7:11 describes.
The Flood began when the Earth’s deep internal reservoirs were suddenly broken open, releasing water and dissolved minerals to the surface. The Flood was therefore not only a hydrological event — it was a global geological catastrophe.
Scripture’s words are precise:
The fountains of the great deep were broken up.
Sources
Genesis 7:11 (KJV)
Richat Structure overview: Geographical Magazine
https://geographical.co.uk/science-environment/phenomena-the-eye-of-the-saharaPre-Salt oil field explanation:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opportunities-increased-brazilian-pre-salt-oil-gas-global-barretoRingwoodite and mantle water studies:
Pearson et al., Nature (2014)
Schmandt et al., Science (2014)

