The Bible says Noah's Ark was a large type of covered barge. Overall dimensions were 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high making it the largest seagoing vessel known before 1850 A.D. The Ark was constructed of gofer wood, or cypress, smeared without and within with resin (kopher) to render it water-tight. The interior contained rooms distributed among three stories. The text mentions only one window measuring a cubit in height, but there probably existed others in each story to give air and light as well as a sophisticated water and sewage system A door had also been set in the side of the Ark; God shut it from the outside when Noah and his family had gone in. Apart from Noah's family, the Ark was intended to receive and keep animals that were to fill the earth again and all the food which was necessary to feed them for a year and 10 days until May 27 2318 B.C. .
God caused pairs of animals to migrate to the location of the Ark. Notice the phrase in Genesis chapter 6, verse 20: "two of every kind will come to you." Also, Genesis chapter 7, verse 9 states the animals "went into the ark to Noah." Noah did not go and get the animals, God did.... John Woodmorappe in a technical book "Noah's Ark; A Feasibility Study" has a table that itemizes the animals that would go on the Ark.
Mammals : 7,428 ... Birds : 4,602 .... Reptiles : 3,724 ... Total ; 15,754
Animals in Ark : 31,508 ... Ark's Capacity : 125,280
Adding extinct animals and the need for seven each of the clean animals we still would have enough space. The test to differentiate species is chromosome count and similar body structure thus the original created "dog" kind that Noah took on the Ark probably included all the domestic dogs plus the, wolves, dingoes, coyotes and others.
The Flood did not come as a surprise to the people of Noah's time. The coming Flood was forecast by Enoch in Genesis 5:25 Enoch was given a prophecy of the coming deluge.
On May 17 2319 B.C., The ocean floor rapidly lifted up to a minimum of 6,500 feet due to an increase in temperature as horizontal movement of the tectonic plates accelerated. This spilled the seawater onto the land and cause massive flooding. Volcanic activity associated with the breaking up of the ocean floor created a geyser of superheated steam from the ocean causing intense global rain. These fountains of the great deep involved a series of volcanic eruptions.
Take a Free Bible College Class