How big was Noah's Ark?

Question

The longest ship ever built, using steel and modern ship building was 1/4 mile long, 200 ft tall and took 2000 men 2 years to build.

This monster ship would not be big enough to house 2 of every species of ant, spider and beatle on earth.

So just exactly how big was this wooden Ark that Noah and Co are supposed to have built to house 2 of all the species of animal in the world? Even if you accept that Marine, Freshwater and Airborne animals needn't have been housed, the Ark would have had to be so big that it would have dwarfed the largest container ship in the world today...made out of Gopher Wood...yeah right.

I heard an arguement that maybe the animals were young, or in some cases eggs....Ok, who reared them whilst they grew up?

And....where was all the food stored?

It's just not true is it? It can't be can it? Can anyone point out the error of my ways?

To the people who think that Insects, Spiders, Ants etc don't count because they don't have a breath in them...are you on drugs? Do insects not need oxygen to breathe then?

Answer 1

I visited 6 websites that tackle the question of whether all of the earth's creatures would have fit on the ark. Three were christian based, one was a proponent of evolution, one a skeptic site and one "creation science". The one common thread in all the sites was that without evolution, there's no way the ark would have been big enough to hold two, or seven of each kind of animal.

To quote the creation scientist's website:
Related populations instinctively remain reproductively separate following a period of isolation, and eventually will become genetically incompatible and unable to mate. Speciation does seem to occur on a fairly regular basis, and along with independent selective pressure has caused the Biblical kinds to become a plethora of uniquely specialized communities. A single species or more from each kind has essentially evolved into many genera of species. For example the canines now exist as many species of foxes, many species of wolves, Jackals, hyena, etc. This level of evolution is termed macroevolution.

The christian based sites seem to have similar ideas:
The total number of land-dwelling mammals birds, reptiles, and amphibian species is less than 20,000 or so. The number of "kinds," the Biblical designation, is probably much smaller. For instance, of the 9,000 bird species, approximately 400 are hummingbirds, with only minor differences in color, size, and habitat. Very likely, they all come from only one or a few kinds, thereby dropping the total number.

Doctors Morris and Whitcomb in their classic book, "The Genesis Flood," state that no more than 35,000 individual animals needed to go on the ark. In his well documented book, Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study, John Woodmorappe suggests that far fewer animals would have been transported upon the ark. By pointing out that the word "specie" is not equivalent to the "created kinds" of the Genesis account, Woodmorappe credibly demonstrates that as few as 2,000 animals may have been required on the ark. To pad this number for error, he continues his study by showing that the ark could easily accommodate 16,000 animals.

Horses, zebras and donkeys are probably descended from an equine (horse-like) kind, since they can interbreed, although the offspring are sterile. Dogs, wolves, coyotes and jackals are probably from a canine (dog-like) kind. All different types of domestic cattle (which are clean animals) are descended from the Aurochs, so there were probably at most seven (or fourteen) domestic cattle aboard. The Aurochs itself may have been descended from a cattle kind including bison and water buffaloes. We know that tigers and lions can produce hybrids called tigons and ligers, so it is likely that they are descended from the same original kind.

Using evolution seems to be the only way anyone can justify the ark being big enough to hold all the animals. If we are to believe that evolution,in any form,is completely out of the question then we have to work with the number of animals on the earth today.

At least 774,524 types of animals, including insects would have had to be represented on the ark. If we assume that the number of "clean" animals was negligible and only count pairs, not the sevens, that means that at least 15,49,048 different animals and insects would have been on the ark. I am not including species such as worms (36,200), non-insect arthropoda ie. mites, spiders etc. (123,151), algae (26,900) or fungi (46,983) although some of these would have had to have been on the ark to survive (for example, none of the 1300 species of scorpion can survive in a wet invironment). Nor am I including the approximately 668 species of dinosaurs since I believe they were already extinct.

The numbers mentioned above represent only what has been identified and classified so far. Species diversity has been variously estimated to be between 5 and 50 million or more, though only about 1.4 million have actually been described. Of course the vast majority of the "undiscovered" animals include insects, marine life and bacteria so they can be excluded.

So, the question remains, would 15.5 million animals and insects plus enough food and supplies for all have fit on the ark? Most Hebrew scholars believe the cubit to have been no less than 18 inches long. This means that the ark would have been at least 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high (Gen 6:14-16). The total cubic volume would have been 1,518,000 cubic feet. That would be equal to the capacity of 522 modern railroad stock cars. If cages or pens were used, this would cut down on the available space.

Now we know about how much space was available so let's see if it's enough room. "The median size of all animals on the ark would actually have been that of a small rat, while only about 11% would have been much larger than a sheep" (John Woodmorappe "Noah’s Ark: a Feasibility Study"). Assuming that Woodmorappe's calculations of animal size are correct, we need to know how much mass is contained in 15.5 million small-rat-sized animals. This is where it's going to get tricky since the term 'small rat" is not descriptive enough and I had to do my calculations based on my own research on different rat sizes. I expect there to be some debate on this issue as well as my other calculations.

Since rats vary so much in size I finally decided on a rat size approximately equaling the size of a 16 ounce bottle (Note: This would actually be a rather large rat. The total mass for a small rat would probably be about half that size but I discovered my error too late and I‘d have to redo all my calculations). 16 fluid ounces is equivalent to 0.0167101 cubic feet. If you multiply that by 15.5 million, you get 259006.55 cubic feet...less than 20% of the total available space. Of course this figure means that each and every animal would have to be packed end to end and side by side. If we assume that every animal had twice it's own mass in free (roaming) space, that takes us up to 777,000 cubic feet or just over half of the available space.
If we assume that each animal ate the equivalent of it's own mass in food and required the same amount in bedding material during their long stay, that would require a total of 1,295,000 cubic feet. That leaves us with 223,000 cubit feet (75 box cars) available for the humans, their food, many of the species that I didn't include (worms, fungi and the scorpions I mentioned etc.), material for the cages or pens and decking, room for airflow and just about anything else I may have left out. I purposely didn't mention water because there was certainly enough of that available.

In addition, insects like fleas and ticks would have lived on other animals thereby increasing available space. The small amount of space they take up may not seem to be worth mentioning but consider the fact that there's 250 different species of flea in North America alone. The amount of space freed up by parasites is still extra space no matter how you look at it.

The research I did for this was quite limited and there may be small mistakes but the conclusion that I've come to is that there was ample space to accommodate all species of animal living today without the need to resort to using evolution to explain it. The only problem I can see with my research is in the matter of dinosaurs. The websites I visited all mentioned them and seemed to believe that they were included. If that was the case then the results of my research would be null and void. However, I chose not to include them for one reason, that out of the 668 species of dinosaur, none are alive today. If they had been on the ark it stands to reason that at least some dinosaurs would have survived until modern times.

In conclusion, the only reason I can find for the defenders of the biblical account of the flood to use evolution to help their argument is because they include dinosaurs. There's absolutely no proof that that was the case so I stand by my research and calculations. The answer to the question is yes, the ark could have held all the animals.

(Note: Although Noah's ark had the room to accommodate all the world's animals, I don't believe that it did. I'm currently doing research on the biblical flood story. When the research is finished, my results will be published here: http://blog.myspace.com/dakota1022)

Answer 2

Noah's ark was about 450 feet long, 75 wide, and 45 feet high. It had three decks, divided into compartments, with a row of windows around the top. It would have been similar in size and proportion of ocean ships today. Some have calculated that there would have been enough room in the ark for 7000 species of animals.

Yes the ark was made out of Gopher wood, and no there were no eggs, there were two of each kind of animal. A male and female.

Answer 3

To carry that many animals, the ark would have had to have been larger than several aircraft carriers...and there is a maximum size that wooden structures can reach. The Spanish Galeon was about as big as a wooden vessel could get without snapping un half under its own mass. The more you look at the tale of the ark, the more you have to invoke magic to make the tale work. Simply put: It's a fairy tale. A myth. No ark, no noah, no object on a mountain in Turkey (It's a rock formation, as many expeditions have discovered since it was detected. The tale refuses to die.)

Answer 4

When God told Noah to build the ark, He gave him the measurment of the ark in full details. Genesis 6:15-18 describes the size of the ark: It reads:"This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it."

When we are talking about God intending to do something, we are not talking about the limitation of a man. God who created the heavens and every living creatures seen and unseen is certainly capable to gather all the animals that He wanted to save and confine them within a certain area so that when Noah is about to embark into the ark all the animals would just walk with the guidance of unseen forces to enter into the ark according to the plan of God. Do you think that that is too difficult for God to do? There are certain animals that God did not include within those who were taken into the ark because they would survive the flood without being into the ark, For example, snakes of all kind were not included. I am sure that scorpions and many reptiles like alligators and similar species were not included in the list of Noah.

If you wish to look at the way it was constructed, open this site:

http://www.mazinsweiss.com/

You could also review few other portraits pertaining to the incident on the Great Flood!

Answer 5

I think more important than how big it was or how it was built or what it's purpose was... let's forget the fact that Noah was an elderly man, let's forget about how impossible it would be for one man to go country to country to collect two of EVERY animal on the planet...... We'll forget about logic for a moment and go along with the christian naivety we'll say that the whole story of Noah is true..... If it is true then what happened to it when he was finished? a ship of that grandeur surely didn't just vanish into thin air. What happened to it when it's usefulness was gone? Did he destroy it? use the wood to build fires? did he take wifey on a cruise to the newly formed bahama islands? or did god just poof the boat out of existance? if god "poofed" it away..... could he not have poofed it into existance instead of having Noah labor for centuries to build it? (Noah was what? 900 years old according to the bible!?)

I've heard some arguments from christians that there weren't as many animals in noah's day than there is now so it was easier for him. I can see where that assumption comes from.... Whenever you see an artist's rendering of noah's ark you always see the same animals. A couple giraffes, some elephants, a couple of lions.... nothing too obscure. But then, dear christians, how can you deny the theory of evolution when you say that all the animals we have today are of larger varieties than they were back in that day? Surely SOME of those creatures had to evolve from one species to another if there were none of those species during the days of the ark.


Edit: To expand on the answer below mine.... Here's the definition of a cubit:

"an ancient linear unit based on the length of the forearm, from elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually from 17 to 21 in."

Ok..... basic math.... 40 cubits = how many inches?

A cubit is between 17 to 21 inches.

17 * 40 = 680
21 * 40 = 840

Ok.... So the Ark was 40 cubits.... which is between 680 to 840 inches. So the ark was somewhere between 57 to 70 feet long and it fit one pair of EVERY animal in the world??? You people are CRAZY!!!

Answer 6

Gen 6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
Gen 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.


Most Hebrew scholars believe the cubit to have been no less than 18 inches long [45.72 centimeters]. This means that the ark would have been at least 450 feet long [137.16 meters], 75 feet wide [22.86 meters] and 45 feet high [13.716000000000001 meters].

Answer 7

In the eleventh tablet of the Semitic Babylonian epic of Gilagamesh is a flood story that is the source for the Noah story. The Gods resolved to cleanse the earth of an overpopulated humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the God Ea in a dream. He and some craftsmen built a huge (seven decks encompassing one acre in area) ark. Utnapishtim then loaded it with his family, the craftsmen, and "the seed of all living creatures." The waters rose up, and a storm continued for six days and six nights. The Gods repented and wept upon seeing the global destruction of living beings and stilled the flood on the seventh day. The waters covered everything but the top of the mountain Nisur, where the boat landed. A dove was loosed, but it returned, having found no place to rest. A swallow was sent, but it too returned. Seven days later, after having loosed a raven that did not return to the ark, the people began to emerge. Utnapishtim made a sacrifice to the Gods. He and his wife were given immortality and lived at the end of the earth.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=ancienthistory&cdn=education&tm=5&gps=397_569_1020_610&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.dreamscape.com/morgana/titania.htm

Answer 8

on the contrary it has been done and today it was done again AND loaded with all the animals to show proof. i saw it . it was 3 stories high, length of foot ball field.The Ark is being constructed to the specifications of Noah’s original Ark--450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. To give you a better idea of what that will look like--Imagine a structure one and half football fields long and three stories high! (View Our Real Media Clip)To date,

Answer 9

Size doesn't matter.

Seriously though, if you read the story again, you'll see that Noah did NOT take 2 of every animal on earth. He took less than 200 animals (2 of each unclean and 7 of each clean or something like that).

And could the "whole earth" have been flooded if the "whole earth" according to Noah's knowledge was tiny, geographically speaking? I mean, it's not like he had GPS mapping of the globe or anything...

Answer 10

You need to do a bit more research. The Bible talks about 2 of every kind, not every species; that's a man-made classification that's imperfect.

Furthermore, the Bible talks about taking on critters with the breath of life in them. Spiders, ants, insects, bugs, etc., aren't part of the equation.

I think you copied this from an ill-informed source without looking into it yourself. =(

Answer 11

There would have to be millions of environments to sustain the massive interconnections most species rely on.
We are a web, a net of life.

Noah's Ark is BS