Summary

There are many artist conceptions of the design and what the Ark look like on the internet and also in very detailed books.  In God's instructions, Noah was using a cubit measurement that classically was interpreted to be the distance between the end of the fingers to the elbow, which is roughly 18 inches or 44 cm.  Some Biblical Scholars also state that the cubit could be a length between 18 inches to 25 inches.  The diagram below shows a possible conception of what the Ark looked like and the famous RMS Titanic is shown also, with its dimensions, to give a little bit of a comparison because it is most likely the best well-known ship in the world after Noah's Ark.  Note that the drawing of the Ark is not a precise or exact rendition, but based on scriptural references.

There was most likely an opening around the entire top for ventilation that had wooden shutters that could open and close.  There was only one entrance at the bottom of the ship, and God closed it which many Biblical Scholars state that it points symbolically to only one way to be saved.  Once the door was closed, then the option to be saved from the Great Flood was gone forever.  In some Biblical Commentaries, the closing of the Ark door by God was necessary to make the door completely water proof, along with showing the Ark was under God's protection.  Additionally, when God closed the door then Noah's family knew God had finalized the last step for them and the animals on board.

Noah's Ark dimensions summarized:

Notorious and Fanciful

Additionally, there are writings such as the Sumerian poems that contain a reference about Gilgamesh trying to seek immortality by visiting a survivor of the Great Flood name Utnapishtim.  Some critics of the Scriptures state that the Gilgamesh epic, Tablet 11, was 350 years older than the earliest Scriptural account of the Great Flood.   When reading the descriptions of Noah's Ark in the poems the ark is:

Will the Ark be found?

One of the most widely known proposed theories is the Ark is on top of Mount Ararat in modern-day Turkey.  This is based on Genesis 8:4 which gives a reference to the mountains of Ararat.  Mount Ararat in Turkey is an ancient volcano with two snow-capped volcanic cones. 

1. A recent very well written article in the November 2021 issue of "Acts and Facts', discussed some possible theories on the Turkey location along with the city of Babel founded most likely by Nimrod.  It is a great read. 
   (a) Acts and Facts is a very well documented and professional magazine that is part of the outstanding Institute Creation Research (ICR). 
   (b) Another awesome organization is Answers in Genesis (AIG), which this author also endorses.
2. Another very interesting research work is from Ron Wyatt's work who believes the Ark of Noah was found in Turkey on Mount of Ararat.  When reading and watching information from Ron Wyatt, it is a very exciting presentation, that unfortunately has been proven to be absolutely false as read from an article on Answers in Genesis exposed.  This author also agrees the conclusions of Ron Wyatt, and his team are wrong.  (If AIG's link is missing, click here.) 
   Some other general ancillary points:
   
   (a) The earth was theoretically a different ecology prior to the flood, with a greenhouse condition over the entire Earth according to many Creation Scientist, which this author agrees. 
   * Prior to the Great Flood, the theory is the atmospheric pressure was a great deal higher, which is now in the frontteirs of some medical research on curing diseases. 
   * The increased atmospheric pressure, even found in experiments today, allowed the animals and dinosaurs to grow larger.
   * The greenhouse affect over the entire Earth was also a positive influence for the entire planet.  See topic on Great Flood of Noah. 
   * With the changing of the ecology from a green house and the topology of the earth after the flood, there should be evidence to prove the prior existence of the theoretical green house affect on the Earth. 
   * One proof, is ancient trees that were buried after the flood and would not grow again at colder temperatures which were food for larger animals.
   * A second proof is Petrified trees have been found in Antarctica and other barren places.  Also, petrified wood may be found almost anywhere.  
   
   (b) According to many sources, such as LiveScience.com, "Iron is the fourth most common element in Earth's crust by weight and much of the Earth's core is thought to be composed of iron", so it can found and is not evidence of ancient nails or a attaching mechanism.  Also, Mt Ararat is an extinct volcano.  When lava was erupting, it contains ferrous iron that would literally be found all over Mt Ararat.

Problems with Mt Ararat location

There are problems and questions dealing with the theories and found evidence of a location on a mountain in Turkey is the name for Mount Ararat did not come into existence until the Middle Ages, and Mount Ararat would not be described as mountains.  It could also be a possibility that the volcano was named Ararat during the Middle Ages because of beliefs, at that time, that the Ark of Noah was there.

One of the first problems, with a Mt Ararat location, is the scriptural verse has "mountains" which has a connotation and understanding of there are many mountains.  Additionally, discussed in this topic, is the logistics of the people leaving the Ark and where they went that is explained next.

Where Did the Ark Rest after the Flood?

A few Biblical Scholars, which this author agrees, have used the scriptural text, in Genesis 8:4, to point to the conclusion that the Ark rests in the high mountains in modern day Iran, formerly Persia.  The reasons are:

1. The Zagros Mountains in Iran are the nearest mountain ranges to the area of Shinar.  The highest mountain point is named Mount Dena, which is 4,409 meters (14,465 ft).  At this height, it is very difficult for vegetation to grow.
2. The Ark landed on the top of a mountain because it would have been the first part of land to be exposed as the flood waters abated, which was near the area that the scriptures mention is the Land of Shinar.
3. After the Ark rested, then Noah's family would have had to descend off the mountain for warmer temperature areas which means most likely going west because the descendents are referenced as being in the land of Shinar. 
   (a) The series of mountains in western Iran extend for a great distance in both north to south directions along many miles of mountains. 
   (b) When in the Land of Shinar, the Genesis 11:3-4 reverences going east to build the Tower of Babel confusing of the languages incident.
   (c) In order for the descendents of Noah to "journey eastward", requires the descendents to be farther westward from the Mountains of Ararat.
4. The Volcano of Mount Ararat is a great deal of distance away from the Land of Shinar.  If the Ark was in Turkey, then Genesis 11:2 would have them journeying south to build the Tower of Babel. 
   |(a) The city of Babel still existed after the confusing of the languages of Genesis 11:3-4.
   (b) The city of Babel will become the city of Babylon.
   (c) The Scriptures, besides many areas of God against evil, the city of Babylon is described as the root of all false religions.
5. With all of the numerous expeditions searching Mount Ararat in Turkey, no Ark has been found which indicates it is not there.

The reason why there is a belief that the Ark will be found are:

• It was pitched, a method of water proofing a boat, with material on the inside and the outside.  Pitching on the inside, besides the outside, would also protect from aging decay.  There is not really a reason to pitch the inside of any boat from ancient history.  The most important pitching was the outside.
• When resting at a high altitude, on a mountain, then the frozen condition will preserve the Ark from decay almost indefinitely.  In our time, there have been ancient Viking, Roman and other civilization's boats found in deep icy waters, that have almost been perfectly preserved.  On top of high mountain ranges that are known for climbing such as K2 in Pakistan, the bodies of climbing victims are preserved and not always moved out of reverence.
• The beautiful scripture that God gave Noah and us in Genesis 9:12-15, is a promise that God would never flood the entire earth again.  This would have given Noah and his family comfort as they most likely had a great deal of anxiety of future floods.  By having the Ark land on the peak of a mountain area with the extreme cold, then this ensured that Noah and his family would not linger on the Ark as a home because of it being a sanctuary of safety.  This is another reason why there is the belief that the Ark is still at the place it rested in the original design.

  Genesis 9:12-15 (The key is "all flesh" which mean never an universal flood.)

  12 God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; 13 I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

• Additionally, regarding the high altitude of a mountain area for the Ark to reside, then the Ark would not have been salvaged over time for wood to build homes and cities, so it could be largely intact baring any landslides. 
  (a) Over the centuries, as snow and other aspects of terrain on top of mountain have gone by, the Ark most likely is heavily covered by snow and ice. 
  (b) There are very interesting accounts of objects buried in ice after only a few decades of years.  A very interesting example is a WWII P-38 plane found buried under 300 feet, named Glacier Girl, of ice in Greenland from a force landing in 1942.  (If the link is not reachable, click here.)  There is a companion article in WIKI, which sites 268 ft (82 m).

Many Biblical Scholars, who believe the Ark will be found, believe it will be one of many, many witnessing tools to warn the people of the earth before or during the Tribulation Period, just like it was before the Great Flood.

Diagram 1.  Map of present-day country divisions with an estimation location of the references in the scriptures.

The last question is where is the Mountains of Ararat if it is not the Mount Ararat in Turkey?  Unfortunately, this is not known but hopefully archeology will lead to this answer in the future.  Names of famous places are changed constantly in history, where the Zagros Mountains are a good candidate for the ancient name of the Mountains of Ararat.  In the interim, it is the opinion of many, which includes this author, that the most important part is the scripture information of what God did with Noah.

Is the Ark Of Noah a Model Pointing to Jesus Christ?

Yes, according to some commentaries, as the Ark is a model that pointed to the only way to escape the pending judgment against the entire Earth.  Jesus Christ is the only way to get to Heaven, which requires accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior for Salvation.

There is also the many parallels on the way God handles events, prophecies and our lives.  There are three types or categories for Salvation before the Great Flood happened that model how God administrates the Tribulation Period:

Two additional points:

1. While Noah was building of the Ark, the building was a witness and message to those who saw and heard about it. 
2. The inhabitants of the Earth would have had knowledge from Methuselah's prophetic life.

The Eight Problem Questions

1. How could all of the species of the world fit in the Ark?
2. How could Noah and his family collect all the species of the world?
3. What about those species that could have been tens of thousands of miles away from the Ark and how did they get collected?
4. Did Noah have to capture marine type animals, such as dolphins to protect them?
5. What about the large animals such as elephants or even dinosaurs?
6. How did Noah's family feed all of these animals?
7. How did the plants survive the flood?
8. What did the animals eat after the flood?

Before discussing these questions, if the reader has not read the topic on evolution, then this is a good starting place.  Understanding that evolution creating all of the species of the world is impossible, actually gives clarity to understanding the logistics of the Ark containing all of the animals that would give the world all of the species that we know today. 

God has created the ability for animals to have minor changes in visual attributes such as color of feathers, size of body and fur length while still remaining in what Biologist call a Family in the "Living Organisms Table".  This ability is part of the DNA and RNA capabilities, where change in environment will implement the "programming" abilities inside the DNA and RNA.

Family in the Living Organisms Table, is defined by many sources as: "a category of biological classification ranking between the type Order and type Genus."  As an example, many people are familiar with Canine, or Canidae Family that consists of Coyotes, Jackals, Wolves, Foxes and Dogs, where there are many breeds.  Note that some sources may state that Canidae is part of a Genus group.  The grouping names and definitions in living creatures is man's definition, where God states that animals can create after their kind.

As presented in the topic on evolution, we all know:

• There are new breeds of dogs created from different mating of breeds.  There is no evolution occurring as the offspring is still a dog where an Evolutionist may call the new breed a new species if it were dealing with a different type of animal.
• According to anthological theories, Human beings emerged from the Fertile Crescent where distinct ethnicities emerged over time that have distinct attributes.  The ethnicities are still human beings.  There was no evolution occurring with the Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid and other races which all have specific physical visual traits. 
  (a) This author believes the theories of evolution, when dealing with human beings, is extremely racist and is absolutely evil and wrong!
  (b) When humans have offspring from parents of two different ethnicities, are the children considered a new species as biologist and evolutionist are asserting when this occurs with dogs, cats and others like Darwin's Finches?  Obviously, the offspring are still human beings with attributes from both parents but possibly different skin color along with other visual attributes.
• The famous case of Darwin's Finches are still Finches.  No evolution occurring that changed any of them into a Hawk, Eagle or Albatross.

Could all the Species Fit in the Ark?

This author is indebted to the following analysis summary, in the blue box from Chuck Missler's commentaries on the Ark of Noah, where Chuck Missler came up with the following point, which this author has paraphrased and summarized:

As discussed in the evolution topic, God designed all living organisms to have the ability to change based on parameters built into the design, which does not mean adding new features.  Genesis 1:24, as stated above, informs us of this with the "according to their kinds" where "kinds" is plural.

1. As an example, a sparrow is not going to evolve into a hawk, eagle or albatross; but a sparrow can change into several to even hundreds of varieties of sparrows which breeding over time, with environmental factors, solidifies a pattern that can be called a species. 
2. As a second example, as discussed above in this topic, the ethnicities of humans were formed by the effects of climate and environment.  Human beings have always had the same physiology, where in medicine, this enables the transfer of blood and organs between people of different ethnicities with some caveats of blood type and donor compatibility.

In Genesis 7:2, God instructs Noah to collect:

• Seven pairs of every clean animal.  This equates to 14 animals.
• One pair of every unclean animal.  This equates to 2 animals.

In Leviticus 11:2-47, we learn what are clean and unclean animals but God obviously told Noah this information because it was required. 

Five Points Used

When coming up with a statistical approach to answering the question of the possibility of all the required animals being able to fit on the Ark, the following points are used:

1. We are not given in the scriptures a list of every single animal that was on the Ark where an educated guess is possible
2. We can rule out the following groups of living organisms not being required to be held on the Ark:
   (a) Plants,
   (b) Fungus,
   (c) Bacteria,
   (d) Fish,
   (e) Aquatic Mammals, and
   (f) Some Aquatic Reptiles.
3. For the creatures on the Ark, they did not have a requirement of being fully grown.
4. When considering the table of divisions of life shown below, which contains the excluded requirements of storing Plants through Aquatic Reptiles on the Ark:
   (a) The Category of Family, in the Living Organisms Table, with an estimated 5,404 members can reasonably be taken down to most likely 70% for a requirement of possibly 3,783 living types of Family of animals by eliminating many of the groups identified in #2.  70% is being used liberally as a nice high percent.
   (b) Notice in the chart shown below concerning Category of "Phylum" there are 35 types of Animals, which contain subsets of "Class", "Order", "Family" and "Genus".  The "Family" category is the key group for coming up with a calculation theory.
5. Insects such as locusts, flies, butterflies and others could have been kept on the ark as initially worms as pupa, while other types of insects stored in small habitats.  God could have also protected many insects that were in a pupa stage in wood or mud that was submerged during the flood.

The following table is one of several divisions of all living organisms that can be found in Biology documentation.

For purposes of formulating a theory on the occupancy of animals on the Ark, as already stated, this author is using the Family Category which has 5,404 major groups of animals, where a liberal 70% are animals would be required to be on the Ark.  The other 30% would be the exclusions such as plants through aquatic reptiles in the "Five Points Used" section.  The next step, using all of the "Five Points Used" section a hypothetical estimation can then give us a theoretical requirement of 21,186 animals on board the Ark as shown in this next table.

Therefore, the Ark could easily have contained 21,186 animals, which is far less than the 340,000 sheep being able to be housed on the Ark as proposed by Chuck Missler's example.  Most animals in the world are smaller than sheep, and the animals on the Ark could have been young as point #3 above proposes.

How Could Noah Collect All The Species Of The World?

According to the scripture, God did the collecting for Noah and Noah's family.  All the animals came to Noah where they were then housed in the Ark. 

• In Genesis 6:20, notice that God stated that the animals "will come to Noah to keep them alive". 
• In Genesis 7:16, notice that God states the animals "entered as God had commanded him".

As discussed in the previous part of this topic, it is only essential to have male and female of the root Family of Species which breath air.  By the designs that God built into the DNA, all creatures after leaving the Ark could repopulate the Earth.  After time goes by, there was changes in all animals to give them diversity for what we call species, but still remaining in the same Family. 

Note that there is also the theory that by the environmental changes, this causes the diversity which also results in a loss of "programming information" in the DNA programming, which is why some animals of the same Family, of the Living Organisms Table, may be able to be cross-bread, but will not do it naturally as discussed in the evolution topic. 

Prior to the Great Flood, the animals of the Earth were not necessarily and most likely not afraid of humans because God informs Noah, in Genesis 9:1-3, that from the point of leaving the Ark:

1. Animals will have a fear and dread for mankind.  This implies a change from the previous state.
2. Animals will be given and available for mankind as food.
3. Plants were given previously and are still available.

Because of Genesis 9:1-3 some Biblical Scholars have given the theory that prior to Great Flood, humans along with animals were possibly mostly or completely herbivores.  There were exceptions to the herbivores such as possibly carrion birds and other types of animals that primarily feed on dead animals. 

How Could Noah Obtain All The Species of the World?

The answer to the question of how did Noah and Noah's family collect and obtain all the species of the world is given in these two scriptural passages:

Genesis 1:24 is very important to the Ark's cargo of animals.  As discussed above in this topic, God created all living creatures with the ability reproduce after their Kind, which we could call Family in the Living Organisms Table.  This allows for changes in the living creature that keep it still part of the same Family but can have differences.

Regarding the collection of animals, Genesis 6:20 informs us that God will have the animals come in pairs to Noah and Noah's family for them to secure in the Ark. 

An important note that is left off of all commentaries that I have seen

The explanation of how the pairs of seven clean animals entered into the Ark has not been discussed in the commentaries that this author has seen.  This is most likely because of the analysis pertaining to other areas of the Ark and not realizing that there were also pairs of fourteen animals of a kind coming aboard.

In Genesis 6:19, God informs us that He is having the animals come in pairs.  The question could be asked if the clean category animals came into the Ark in seven pairs?  Regarding the clean animal category, we are not told in the scriptures where the clean animals came as a group of fourteen animals or as separate pairs.  The important part was God had pairs for the breeding aspects to repopulate the Earth.

What About Species Thousands of Miles Away?

Did the Ark have Marine Type Mammals?

The question is sometimes asked if the Ark had places to contain marine type of mammals such as dolphins to protect them?  The answer in Genesis 7:14 is "no".  Only creatures that walk, crawl or fly went into the Ark.

Besides dolphins, there are seals, whales and some species of fish that get their oxygen from breathing the air and not from the water.  These marine types of animals are primarily known as mammals and can survive without problems on a flooded Earth. 

For those types of mammals that require sleep and rest, the flooded earth most likely had many floating oasis of possibly wood mixed with seaweed.  Additionally, there are many mammals have a natural buoyancy such as sea otters. 

We also know that God was also preserving all life that included any species that was not required to be on the Ark.

What About the Large Animals?

Often there are skeptics of the Ark who will state it is impossible for the Ark to have housed large animals such as elephants, bears, giraffes and even dinosaurs.  The answer is pretty simple if the skeptic would have only thought about how to do it.  The method is to have only the young of the animals. 

God planned for the Ark to only floating for a little bit over a year.  This was also most likely imparted to Noah so that adequate provisions of food and water were stored for the animals and Noah's family.

How did Noah's family feed all of these animals?

The scriptures do not give us information about the day-to-day activities on the Ark other than the points at the end where Noah releases first a raven and then a dove in Genesis 8:6-12.  We do know that God gave instructions in Genesis 6:21 to have food for everyone on the Ark which includes Noah, Noah's family and the animals.

The following chart shows a theoretical estimation by this author on how the animals were taken care by Noah and his family, with the following assumptions:

• 30% of the Kinds of the animals that came on board were consider of the clean type which required 7 pairs of male and female.
• 70% of the Kinds of the animals that came on board were consider of the unclean type which required 1 pair of male and female.
• Most animals are small.
• Only the babies or young of large animals would come aboard the Ark.
• There are many animals that only eat once every few days, or possibly eat once in a week or even longer.  An example is some reptiles only eat once a month.
• There are animals that spend their time grazing or eating little bits of food throughout the day.
• Many animals were at rest, when in the Ark, so their metabolisms most likely slowed down greatly where God most likely induced hibernation in many cases. 
• Four types of maintenance categories were used to calculate a schedule for caring for the animals:
  (a) Animals required maintenance every 3 days means there are 2 days with no maintenance.  Only 1/3 of this group needs to be attended to daily.
  (b) Animals required maintenance every 7 days means there are 6 days with no maintenance.  Only 1/7 of this group needs to be attended to daily.
  (c) Animals required maintenance once in a month means there are 29 days with no maintenance.  Only 1/30 of this group needs to be attended to daily.
  (d) Animals that require no maintenance or very little because they either hibernate or need a very simple habitat to survive the duration of the flood.
• When using the term animal in the calculations below, this will be used to include all living creatures that walk, run and fly which require land.  This will also include insects.
• With 8 people in Noah's family then each member needs to take care of 59 habitats daily.  Assuming an 8-hour work day, then it means taking care of 7 habitats per hour.  This is an obtainable work load. 
  
  Additional Notes:
   
• By keeping busy throughout the day, the 8 people on the Ark would have purpose and hope that their work was for a goal.  It is this author's opinion that God had everyone significantly busy so that none of them could let the fear of the outside bring in despair or fear. 
• When any of us go to a store that sells pet supplies and pet animals, we know that many of the animals only require a little bit of maintenance.  As an example: mice, hamsters, birds and reptiles take very little maintenance.  Food and water can be simply set in their habitat, and they will be content with their needs, where the only other basic requirement is debris removal.

Noah's family therefore has to maintain a potential estimated 3,783 habitats where:

• A habitat can contain 2 animals or 14 animals. 
• We can obviously assume that God maintained the health of each animal, so Noah's family just had to make sure there was food, water and removal of debris. 
• Most likely habitats would contain different types of the Family of Animals, in the "Living Organisms Table", which could cohabitate, so there was probably far less Habitats than 3783.  Maybe far less than 50% habitats, but this is not used in the theoretical calculations.

Therefore, theoretically each person in Noah's family is responsible for maintaining 7 habitats an hour for an eight-hour work day.

Some additional theories and points:

• The speculation from Biblical Scholars is God arranged for some, or many of the animals to be in a hibernation for the duration of the period inside the Ark.  There were most likely many changes in the animals after the Great Flood where the previous increased barometric pressure and other factors had animals maintaining a peaceful herbivore existence.
  (a) Cohabitation was therefore not a problem.  
  (b) Corroboration is when God restores all things, then the Lion will lay down with the Lamb as read in Isaiah 65:25. 
• Additionally, the nature of animals most likely must have been herbivores before the Great Flood.  Genesis 9:3 confirms the change of food sources when God informs Noah:
  (a) Just as I gave the green plants for food
  (b) Now I give you everything.
  which had caveats as given in Genesis 9:4-6

How did the plants survive the flood?

The scriptures do not give us information in this area.  Many Biblical Scholars and Christian Scientists state that plants and trees can survive long periods under water. 

There are many experiments about plant and seed dormancy.  A famous experiment by William James Beal, dealt with burying seeds in closed glass containers, and then opening them in sequence over multiple decades to be planted to test if there was still the ability to grow.  In the linked wiki article, there is a reference of 2 seeds of 21 samples sprouted in year 2000 after being buried since 1879.

Unfortunately, there is fake information being circulated that wheat found in Egyptian tombs can still grow wheat after 3,000 years.  This author has not found any credible information to state that 3,000-year-old plants of any kind can still grow.  There are a few internet links that claim seeds found in Egyptian tombs have turned to dust after several millennial periods.  Regardless, the Great Flood was only 370 days so one year is not a problem for plants to start growing.

Some critics also bring up the question of salt water could possibly kill many types of plants.  We are not given technical information in the scriptures on the water concentration of salt or if salt water was only in specific areas where obviously God was in control.

In Genesis 8:11, the Great Flood is almost over and Noah sends out a Dove which returns with an Olive Leaf.  This showed that vegetation had already begun to grow again along with only being dormant when it was under the water.

What did the animals eat after the flood?

Most Biblical Commentaries, as already stated in this topic, theorize that animals and mankind were herbivores before the Great Flood.  After the Great Flood the ecology of the entire Earth had changed due to the consequences of requiring the Great Flood.  The consequences also caused even the animals to suffer. 

As pointed out in this topic, in Genesis 9:3-6, God changed human kind's acceptable food sources from not only plants, but animals were now acceptable food sources where there were some caveats. 

We know that today there are animals that only have a diet of eating other animals, where the theory is the carnivorous and omnivore animals changed after the flood but the process was gradual.

Is the Ark a Myth?

In order for the Ark of Noah to be a myth, then there would have to be another explanation for all of the scientific data that show that the Earth was covered with water at least one time, besides the two different scriptural accounts. 

Plate tectonics is not able to prove the widespread evidence of water covering the Earth.  There are:

• Land fossils at the bottoms of the oceans.
• Fish fossils at the tops of mountains.
• Frozen mammoths with tropical plants in their mouths in Siberia that shows an instantaneous change in the climate that froze the animals in moments where their fossils are found with plants in their mouths.  When the Great Flood began, the water canopy that surrounded the Earth was ripped away that dropped the temperatures to as much as 60 Degree Fahrenheit below zero at the two poles of the Earth.  Genesis 7:11.
• Petrified forests in Antarctica discovered first by Admiral Byrd and also published in many scientific journals such as National Geographic's article on "Antarctica was once covered in Forests".  (If the link is not reachable click here.)
• The Grand Canyon could not have been formed simply by the Colorado River where there are marine fossils found at the highest points.  The computer modeling points a quick change to carve out the canyon.
• There are Submarine Canyons at the bottom of several oceans that the explanations of plate tectonics do not make sense.  The canyons had to be formed quickly is the only explanation through an event which the scripture do describe as God opened up the fountains of the earth.
• Examining the numerous accounts of a global flood from cultures of people all over the earth.
• and many, many more examples.
  https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/worldwide-flood-evidence/
  https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/there-evidence-flood-was-global
  https://biologos.org/articles/flood-geology-and-the-grand-canyon-what-does-the-evidence-really-say
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flood_myths    

How long did the Ark take to build?

The scriptures do not tell us the starting date but many Biblical Scholars give two estimations:

Estimation One of Two

The first estimation of the two is an estimated range of somewhere between 55 to 78 years.  The way the estimation is calculated is by the following scriptural references:

• God announces the flood is 120 years away.  This is the starting point.  Genesis 6:3.
• Twenty years after God's announcement, Noah starts having his sons. Genesis 5:32.  We know that Noah is 601 when the Ark rests on the Mountains of Ararat and the Great Flood is approximately 370 days. 
  (a) 601 years old minus 100 years equals 501. 
  (b) 501 years old minus 370 days
  makes Noah 500 years old with 101 years before the Great Flood.
• Shem is the oldest and we know that when he is born, the Great Flood is 98 years away because Shem is 100 years old when the Great Flood had ended two years before.  Genesis 11.10.
• Japheth is the youngest and we can make an estimate that when he was born, the Great Flood is 94 years away based on a possibly theory that Noah has a new son every two years.
• We know from Genesis 6:18 that God tells Noah, Noah's wife and Noah's sons with Noah's son's wives that the eight of them will enter the Ark.  Assuming that the youngest Japheth gets married at age 16 then: 94 minus 16 is 78 years to the Great Flood.  In other words, God is telling the 8 people which means the sons and the son's wives, so this is how we can make a guess that they started building the Ark at that point.

With these points then if Noah began building the Ark the day that God tells him about the Great Flood in Genesis 6:18, then it took theoretically 78 years to build the Ark.  Some additional points:

1. We do not know how many years that Noah finished the Ark before the Great Flood.  It is reasonable to conclude that he didn't finish it the day the doors were closed.
2. We do not know when the animals all began coming to the Ark.

Therefore, it is most likely some date range of 55 to 78 years to build the Ark. 

Estimation Two of Two

The second often quoted estimation is it took Noah 100 years to build the Ark.  This estimation is derived from Genesis 6:9-22, where the scripture verses are giving us information about God's informing Noah that there is going to be an end of life for all living creatures on the Earth because of the violence and other aspects.  Here are the points that are often used for the interpretation of coming up with the estimation of 100 years:

• God is telling Noah the Great Flood is 120 years away.
• When Noah is 500 years old, then Noah starts having children where he has three sons.
• God is telling Noah that everyone in his family will be saved and the Great Flood is approximately 100 years away.
• The scripture in Genesis 6:18 does not tell us the names of the son's wives, so God could have been given Noah advanced information that his sons will be married when the Great Flood occurs, where the wives will be saved also which would have made Noah very excited and happy.
• From the chart above, if Noah's sons Ham and Japheth are born within a four-year period then the date range of building the Ark is 96 years to 100 years.
• If the scripture of Genesis 6:18 is also a prophetic passage for Noah then Noah could have started the building of the Ark project at that point since Genesis 6:14-16 is giving summary instruction from God to Noah about the building of the Ark.

Therefore, there is the estimation that the date range of building the Ark is an estimated 96 to 100 years, where many commentaries simply round up the number of 96 to 100.

Concluding Thoughts

The scriptures do not give us all of the details concerning the Ark that many of us would like to know.  It is the opinion of this author that at the different judgments such as the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will see the details so that we can be amazed, enjoy, learn and love God more for everything that God has done for those who love Him.  Hopefully, this topic has targeted the areas of questions and helped with the explanations given. 

It is this author's opinion that the Ark probably took at least 50 years or more to build with a completion date of 5 years before the Great Flood so that Noah's family could make all of the preparations required by God. 

If this author had to make a guess, then probably my guess would be 75 years to build the Ark where it was completed several years before the Great Flood so that:

1. Food storage could be accomplished to last over a year for all the animals and Noah's family.
2. Orderly setup of the animals as they arrived.  All of the Animals did not show up on the day before the Great Flood.
   (a) The animals must have come to the Ark in a procession that was spread out over possibly several months, or even a year or more. 
   (b) God organized the animals going to the Ark as read in Genesis 6:19-21.  Noah's family was responsible for caring for the animals in their habitat on the Ark.
3. Once the animals started living on the Ark, before the flood, then this would require supervision and a maintenance schedule as described above in this topic.   
4. There is also the probability that Noah's family also moved all of their furniture and personal items onto the Ark where Noah's family was living on the Ark as their new home at the point that the Animals started showing up. 

Regardless of the duration of years to build, because of the imminence nature of the project it was therefore a witness to all the people who saw it.  News of the Ark being built would have circulated all over the Earth because of the duration, where people would have had to have asked why and often wanted to see the marvel. 

Many Biblical Scholars have the belief, as this author does, that the Ark will be found in the future to once again be a witness of God.  This author believes it will be found during the 70th Week of Daniel which is seven years containing the 3.5 years known as the Tribulation Period.

As we know from Genesis 2:5-6, there was a mist that watered the Earth, and there was not rain, so when Noah explained to people what he was doing because of what was going to happen, then these people must have thought Noah was mentally impaired, yet enjoyed the spectacle of the building of the Ark. 

It is this author's opinion, that amongst many other things that include Jesus Christ, the Ark will be:

• A witness against those who lived during the Antediluvian Era at the Great White Throne of Judgment.
• A future witness for those living in the Tribulation Period, to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and to give them Faith and reassurance.

Other Related Topics

Did the Great Flood actually happen and did it cover the entire Earth?

The Great Flood had the benefit of also burying and destroying the Garden of Eden so that the location with the Tree of Life could never be found.

What to read next?

See: (a) Time and Time Travel, (b) Time Domains, (c) Evolution, (d) Singularity and the Big Bang Theories, (e) E=mc ,  (f) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (g) Age of the Earth, Periods that Developed Life, Heavens (h) The Great Flood