IT WASN'T PAUL BUNYAN DRAGGING HIS GIANT AX?

The folks at the National Park Service have become the objects of controversy (and thousands of emails) on how the Grand Canyon was created:

Causing the flow of e-mail is the controversy over a book for sale at the Grand Canyon that claims the famous area was formed by the Old Testament flood Noah survived and can be no older than a few thousand years. That contention has some scientists calling for the book to be pulled from store shelves. Traditional secular science contends the canyon is millions of years old.

Depending on who you ask, the book is either shining the light of truth on the subject or dragging American into the Dark Ages:

"The Grand Canyon was formed millions of years ago," said William Ausich, president of the Paleontological Society, according to Religion News Service. "It is the job of the National Park Service to present the best scientific information possible to the public, and the book is complete pseudoscience."

Mark Looy disagrees, saying the canyon is much younger. Looy is vice president of Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization that contributed essays to the book.

"The canyon was formed as a result of the aftereffects of Noah's flood, a worldwide global flood," he said. "Most of the canyon was formed by a lot of water over a relatively short period of time."

You like to see scientists supporting the free exchange of ideas.