Subduction Zone
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Like many myths the stories that inspired the Noah's Ark story were probably based upon a real event. There was a very large flood in the Tigris/Euphrates system. Though nowhere near covering the whole world it would have been large enough that it was possible for someone on a boat in the middle of it would not be able to see the land. In other words to the person on the boat it would look as if all of the land was covered:That is illogical. Utnapishtim and his family passed the stories on generation to generation. Nothing unusual about that. Other cultures picked up on the flood stories. As happens still, a bit of mythology got mixed in with some accounts. Ea ensured that we have a record of what really happened. It's called the Gilgamesh Epic.
Yes, Noah's Flood May Have Happened, But Not Over the Whole Earth | National Center for Science Education
"Effects of the Curvature of the Earth
Because of the curvature of the earth, the horizon drops from where the viewer is standing. However, the drop is proportional to the square of the distance between the viewer and an object on the horizon (Young nd). From these relationships, it can be seen that a tribal chief (or Noah) standing on the deck of a large boat (Ark), perhaps 7.8 meters above the water,would not be able to see the tops of any hills as high as 15 m from as little as 24 km away across flood plains covered with water because the curvature of the earth prevents it (See the Appendix for examples of calculations). Most hills in this region that are as much as 15 m high are more than 95 km away from the river levees. Therefore, the survivors of the Flood could see only water in all directions while they were floating down the Tigris River and over the flood plains. Many of these hills would also be partly covered with water which would make their tops project less above the water level, and therefore, the curvature of the earth would make them disappear from the line of sight in even a shorter distance than 24 km.
Northeast and southwest of the nearly flat surface that contains the two rivers, the topography rises to more than 455 m in Saudi Arabia and in Iran. Calculations show that elevations of 455 m high cannot be seen beyond 86 km away, and these places are more than 160 km from the Euphrates or Tigris Rivers. Therefore, none of the high country in Saudi Arabia or Iran would be visible to a tribal chief (or Noah). On that basis, the "whole world" would definitely appear to be covered with water during the Flood, and that was the "whole world" for the people in this part of southeastern Mesopotamia at that time."
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