Continental Drift

• 1912 - German scientist Alfred Wegener hypothesized that the continents were once joined together in a single mass

• Single mass then broke into pieces and moved apart

• He called the "super continent" Pangea

  • --> "all land"

Continental Drift

• Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift

Continental Drift

• Alfred Wegener

• Puzzle - like fit of the current continents

• Rock formation ending on one continent continued on another in matching locations

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​Supporting Evidence

• Fossils of same organisms found on separate continents in matching locations (i.e. Glossopteris)

• Coal deposits and other fossilized remains of tropical plants found in Antarctica

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​Supporting Evidence

• Wegener could not explain how the continents moved through the solid ocean floor

• Wegener could not explain the source of the forces required to move the continents

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Objections