2. Wegener 1880-1930 earthobservatory.nasa.gov  Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of continental drift.

3.  Continental drift was Wegener’s theory that all continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart since.  Wegener named this supercontinent Pangaea.  Wegener’s theory was rejected by scientists because he could not explain what force pushes or pulls continents.

5. Fit of Continents Across the Atlantic Mountain ranges in South America line up exactly with those in Africa!

6. Notice how fossils lined up across continents! http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/images/history/fossils3.gif

7. Amazing Facts: Did you know......that India was once in the Southern Hemisphere connected to Antarctica?...that North America was once surrounded by warm, tropical seas?...that Africa was once covered by glaciers, which were kilometers in thickness?...that the Sahara desert was once a tropical rain forest?

8. As North America has drifted to different latitudes, changing climates were experienced. This shows the changes in the state of New Mexico. An example of the proof for changing climate: At one time, the area that is New Mexico was below the equator!

9. He could not find the force that was causing the continents to drift. Because of this, he could not convince anyone that continents could move. He died in Greenland on an expedition. At the time of his death, no one believed his hypothesis! Technology developed during the 1940’s changed all that!

10. Discovery of Sea-Floor Spreading

11. Sea-Floor Spreading m.y. means million years ago Notice this compass. It is important for the next slide

12. What causes sea floor spreading? Convection currents!

13. Click here for a hyperlink to an animation of convection Be sure to click the play button!

14. Animation of sea floor spreading Can you explain this diagram!?

15.  The place where two plates move apart or diverge is called a divergent boundary.

16. This is a model of sea floor spreading at a divergent boundary called a mid ocean ridge.

17. Did you know that the Earth’s longest mountain range is underwater and is called the mid-ocean ridge? : www.ocean.udel.eduwww.ocean.udel.edu The Mid-Ocean Ridge system, shown above snaking its way between the continents, is more than 56,000 kilometers (35,000 mi) long. It circles the earth like the stitching on a baseball!

18. http://www.livescience.com/images/pangea_animation_03.gif