During the short continuance of the storm the whole face of nature changed. Mountains sank, valleys rose, the sea swept over the plains, large stagnant pools of water usurped the place of flourishing cities; great chasms and precipices disfigured the face of the earth. Many cities were destroyed by earthquakes, fire, and the tumultuous overflow of the waters of the great seas.
We have noted that all these things, great and terrible, happened in three hours, and when at length they subsided, darkness "was upon all the face of the land."