The notion of a ‘wet Sahara’ in the recent past is controversial among secular researchers since they struggle to adduce a mechanism to explain it. However, much evidence exists for it and has recently been bolstered by the discovery of ancient shorelines. And unlike the conditions proposed by secular researchers, the conditions produced by a post-Flood Ice Age in the biblical perspective provide mechanisms for explaining the existence of a ‘wet Sahara’. Further, proof of the inerrancy of God’s Word.

Field and satellite pictures record evidence of large ancient lakes and rivers. Paleolake Chad lies at the boundary between the Sahara and the Sahel. Evidence indicates it was once much larger than today, covering an area of 340,000 km2 (130,000 mi2).7 Countless human artifacts, and fossils of large animals, such as elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, rhinoceroses, and other animals have been found. In low-lying areas, there are fossils of aquatic animals like hippopotamuses, crocodiles, fish, and clams. These are post-Flood fossils, from the Ice Age period.

Both creation and secular geologists agree that the earth’s deserts and semi-arid areas were once well-watered. Creation scientists largely attribute this to the warmer ocean water just after the Flood, warmed by the enormous volcanic eruptions that took place during the Flood. Warmer oceans generated vast amounts of evaporation, which caused the great ice sheets to build up rapidly over many parts of the world, leading to the Ice Age.

At the same time, the extra water vapour in the atmosphere caused high rainfall at lower latitudes where it was not cold enough to form snow and ice. Thus, the post-Flood Ice Age explains why the earth’s deserts and semi-arid areas were once well-watered.

Judging by the thousands of rock petroglyphs, the population of the Sahara was quite large. James Wellard states: The Sahara is a veritable art gallery of prehistoric paintings. … The evidence is enough to show that the Sahara was one of the well-populated areas of the post-flood world. … in the most inaccessible corners of the desert, [there are] literally thousands of figures of tropical and aquatic animals, enormous herds of cattle, hunters armed with bows and boomerangs, and even ‘domestic’ scenes of women and children and the circular huts in which they lived.

Extract from the article “Ice Age Megalakes did exist in the Sahara” by Michael J. Oard in Journal of Creation Vol 37. Issue 1, 2023