DRIFTING CONTINENTS

Continental Drift In 1910, Alfred Wegener, a German scientist, became curious about the relationship of the continents. He hypothesized that all continents were once joined in a single land mass and have since drifted a part. This idea became known as CONTINENTAL DRIFT. This once supercontinent is known as PANGAEA. Pangaea means “all lands.” Wegener’s evidence through land features, fossils and climate change was published in a book called The Origin of Continents and Oceans.

Evidence from land features: the mountain ranges in North America and South America line up.

Evidence from Fossil Record Wegener also found fossil evidence to support his argument. One example is the Glossopteris . This is a fernlike plant that lived 250 million years ago. Glossopteris fossil have been found in rocks in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica.

Evidence from Climate As a continent moves toward the equator it gets warmer and colder as it moved toward the poles. Continents today carry fossils from their previous locations. For example, fossils of tropical plants have been found in Antarctic islands giving evidence that the island was once in warm and mild climates.

Hypothesis Rejected Unfortunately, Wegener’s hypothesis was rejected because he could not explain how the forces pushed or pulled the continents apart.