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Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed.
Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed.
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius
A Brabantian cartographer and geographer. Ortelius was the first to underline the geometrical similarity between the coast of America and Europe-Africa and to propose continental drift as an explanation.
Alfred Lothar Wegner
Alfred Lothar Wegner
Who was a German polar researcher, geophysicist, and meteorologist.
The originator of the Continental Drift Theory by hypothesizing in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth and are once a large landmass called “Pangaea” a greek word which means “All Earth”
Wegner’s Evidence
Wegner’s Evidence
To support his theory, Wegner and his colleagues, include South African geologist Alexander du Toit (1878-1948), gathered evidence.
They examines what was known about the climates during the end of the Paleozoic era (300 Ma) and tried to arrange the continents in each geological period so that the glaciers were near the poles and the hot regions were near the equator.
Topographic Evidence
Fossil Correlation
Rock Formation
Paleoclimate Evidence
Topographic Evidence
Topographic Evidence
Wegener specifically used rock composition and mountain ranges to provide evidence of continental drift. He provided evidence that mountain ranges occurring on opposite continents matched up pretty well when brought together. This perfect aligning of mountain ranges indicated that the continents were once together.
Fossil Correlation
Fossil Correlation
Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart. Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different continents very close to the equator.
Rock Formation
Rock Formation
Wegener proposed that the rock layers were made when all the continents were part of Pangaea. Thus, they formed in a smaller contiguous area that was later broken and drifted apart.
Paleoclimate Evidence
Paleoclimate Evidence
Wegner considered as evidence the glacial till deposits in the northern and southern latitudes.
- Some of Wegner’s explanations clashed with ideas that were widely accepted in the science communities.
- Despite the convincing pieces of evidence supporting the existence of Pangea, the continental drift hypothesis offered no explanation for how and why continents moved to their present locations. Wegner suggested that continents simply plowed through the ocean floor.
- His explanation was contradicted by one of the most notable geophysicists of the twentieth century, Harold Jeffreys (1891-1989). He argued that it is physically impossible for a large mass of solid rock to plow or drift through the ocean floor without breaking up.
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