The theory that major changes in the earth's crust result from catastrophes rather than gradualistic processes.

Belief that geologic history is dominated by a catastrophe or catastrophes, such as the Cataclysm.

The outmoded belief that the earth was formed from a series of spontaneous catastrphic events such as floods, volcanoes and earthquakes.

the view that the earth is influenced by a sequence of major events that upset the everyday processes, often with dynamic results. Cretaceous: the time period between 140 and 65 million years ago.

The name coined by William Whewell in 1832 to describe a view in geology championed by Hutton that the rate and mechanisms of past geological change are dramatically different than those of today. More recently it has been used to refer to 'episodic' or 'quantum' evolutionary processes, and to scientific models that requires extremely large scale change to account for past developments. It is wrongly applied to the punctuated equilibrium theory of Gould and Eldredge, which involves variable rates but not dramatically distinct causes. See Uniformitarianism.

The hypothesis that a series of immense, brief, worldwide upheavals changed the Earth's crust greatly and can account for the development of mountains, valleys, and other features of the Earth. See also uniformitarianism.

The old theory that rocks which form the Earth and the features of the surface of the Earth were formed by a series of catastrophies such as Noah's Flood. A 'New Catastrophism' is now widely accepted, which suggests that catastrophic events such as storms and floods leave the greatest evidence in the geological record and that many rocks and surface features are formed by such 'small' catastrophies, gradual processes possibly having a lesser role than was once thought.

The idea that the earth was shaped by several catastrophes, such as Noah's Flood, the evidence of which evolutionists misinterpret as indicating longages.

General theory that suggests that certain phenomena on the Earth are the result of catastrophic events. For example, the Biblical Flood is responsible for sedimentary rock formations and the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Catastrophism is the theory that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. The dominant paradigm of geology has been uniformitarianism (also sometimes described as gradualism), but recently a more inclusive and integrated view of geologic events has developed resulting in a gradual change in the scientific consensus.