Young Earth Creationism
The six days of Genesis 1 are 24 hours each
The Earth is between 6-15,000 years old and was rapidly made ready for its purpose as a home for man
Individual "kinds" of plants and animals were created directly by God in a mature state
There was no death before the sin of the first man Adam, implying God did not use macro-evolution
God cursed the creation because of the sin of man, introducing decay processes into what was perfect
The flood of Noah's time was violent, covered the entire Earth, and largely formed the geologic column
Notes:
Young Earth advocates, such as the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), believe in a literal reading of the Genesis account. Each day was a 24-hour day comparable to a modern day, and plants and animals were created directly by God in a mature functional state. The Earth was created as a home for mankind. Adam, the first man, may have appeared about 20 years old when created.
God could have created the world in an instant, but took six days to do so, followed by a day of rest, as a pattern for us to follow (it is interesting that the seven-day work week has been followed almost exclusively throughout history, yet has no astronomical basis, unlike the month or year, for example).
By examining the various genealogies found in the scriptures, it is estimated that the creation must have taken place somewhere between six and fifteen thousand years ago. The most famous Biblical chronology is that of Bishop James Ussher who in 1650 determined the date of creation to be 4004 B.C. Modern creationists are willing to acknowledge the possibility of gaps in the genealogies, pushing this date back some.
The created world was a paradise until Adam and Eve disobeyed God. God cursed the creation because of this sin (Gen 3:14-19). Along with physical death, the general process of decay known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics was introduced at this time. A consequence of this law is that the universe will eventually die a heat death (the entire universe will be at the same temperature).
Genesis chapters 6-9 describe how all of mankind became wicked, except for one man named Noah and his family. God sends a flood to destroy all living things except for a remnant of eight people and representative animals saved on a large boat called the ark, who later repopulate the Earth. This flood scoured the Earth down to its basement rocks, and created the geologic column.