Noah Claim Annoys Scientists

Noah and his ark have entered the choppy waters of a debate about the age and geological history of the Grand Canyon.

For years, geologists have held that the 217-mile-long canyon in Arizona was fashioned by the Colorado river between 5m and 6m years ago, and contains some of the oldest exposed rocks on Earth.

But now a book sold in the offical Grand Canyon park bookstore suggests that it was created by the flood that is reported in the book of Genesis.

Grand Canyon: A Different View, by a local trail guide, Tom Vail, claims that years of erosion had nothing to do with the canyon's creation. Instead, its shape can be attributed to the Old Testament flood - meaning that it is only a few thousand years old.

The book's presence in the bookstore has created a rumpus between creationists and evolutionists.

Vail writes: "For years, as a Colorado river guide, I told people how the Grand Canyon was formed over the evolutionary timescale of millions of years.

"Then I met the Lord. Now, I have a different view of the canyon, which according to a biblical timescale, can't possibly be more than a few thousand years old."

The claim has prompted the American Geological Institute and seven scientific bodies to flood the National Park Service with complaints, in which they call for the book to be removed from the shop.

So far, the book remains on sale - although it has been moved from the natural sciences section to the "inspirational reading" department.

"We struggle," Deanne Adams, the park service's chief of interpretation for the Pacific region, told the Los Angeles Times.

"Creationism versus science is a big issue at some places. We like to acknowledge that there are different viewpoints, but we have to stick with the science. That's our training."

The Grand Canyon superintendent, Joe Alston, is seeking advice from National Park Service headquarters in Washington.

The book has sold out, but is being reordered.