The book of Genesis tells a tale of an all knowing and perfect God regretting his own decision about making man. In this story God decides that all of mankind is evil and must be destroyed except for Noah, who is the only righteous and blameless person, and his family. God instructs Noah and his family to build a giant ark so they can be saved from a global flood and carry on the lineage of man afterwards. Noah is also instructed to bring food and two of all animals that lived on land or flew. After completion of the Ark Noah, his family, and the animals entered the vessel and it started to rain for forty days and forty nights. Genesis says the flood covered even the highest mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet and all creatures on Earth that were not on the Ark were killed. God's Regret God, who Christians say is all knowing and perfect, regrets and grieves over his own plans? According to Genesis 6:7 that is the case… "So the LORD said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.'"

We know beyond all reasonable doubt that the global flood described in Genesis never happened (learn more) but fundamentalist Christians still devote their time searching for remains of Noah's ark. Other than the story being just that, these fundamentalists have another major problem with their quest. Even if the ark did once exist it would be long gone by now. Wood rots away in just a couple centuries so it would be impossible for the structure to still be intact. Never the less there are still some people out there searching for the remains. Some have even gone as far as to say they have found "evidence" of the ark's existence. Let's take a look at the best of what they got and see if there is any truth to their findings.

Ark Remains Found at Mt. Suleiman! Well, not really. The would-be wood remains are actually rocks, silicified sandstones. The Christian archaeologist group Bible Archeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claims that a 400 foot long formation at Mt. Suleiman in Iran could be Noah's Ark! Although the formation looks like wood, it is really just rock. It's made up of iron-stained sedimentary rocks that are probably thin beds of silicified sandstones and shales. The thin layers in the sediment were mistaken for wood grain by BASE and the layers for beams of wood. The ark-shape is actually due to the oval shape folds and oil traps that are commonly found in Iran. Ancient Wood Found on Mt. Ararat! Ancient but not old enough, the wood dates to be from 4,000 years AFTER the supposed time of Noah and his ark.

Photos of Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat! The aerial photos are actually just proof of hopeful imagination running wild. In 1949 airplanes photographed the summit of Mt. Ararat and rumors spread of a boat shaped structure in the ice. In 1995 the CIA finally released photos to the public because of the Freedom of Information Act. Unfortunately for those who desperately want to find remains of the ark these photos show no evidence. The images are only natural mountain formations that can be found all over the world. The curve shape is merely the result of snow fall, not a boat. This and similar photos are no more evidence of Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat than other photos are evidence of pirate ships in clouds. It is just wishful thinking. Still optimistic? Well the reality is that a wooden ark would not have even been able to last in such a glacier this long. Ice is always moving, pushing material and debris down the mountain sides. An ark shape caused by an actual ark would not last either. Most troublesome is that the assumptions of an ark are based strictly on distant photos, no evidence has been found from actual exploration of the mountain's summit.