Explain The Theory Of Continental Drift

In 1912 Alfred Wegener proposed a theory that the continents had once been joined and over time had drifted apart. In the early 20th century Wegener published a paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were drifting across the Earth sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other.

Continental Drift Alfred Wegener Building A Case For Continental Drift University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign

We are taught that modern scientists are driven only by reason and facts.

Explain the theory of continental drift. Wegener said that continents move around on Earths surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. Evidences for Continental drift theory Similarity in Physiscal features. Continental drift is a theory that explains how continents manage to change position on the Earths surface.

He called this movement continental drift. Alfred Wegeners Continental Drift Theory. The motion of land masses is now explained as a consequence of moving plateslarge fragments of the earths surface layer in which the continents are embedded.

The earliest maps showing the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa probably provided people with the first evidence that continents may have once been joined together then broken apart and moved to their present positions. The reaction to Alfred Wegeners theory tells us much about the workings of science. CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY Continental drift is the hypothesis that all the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass.

Continental Drift Theory The idea of lateral movement of continents or continental drift was put forward in 1912 by Alfred Wegener in a book The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Alfred Wegener named this supercontinent Pangaea. Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed.

The continental drift theory states that a single mass of land broke down into several parts before drifting apart and forming the current continental formations. The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century mostly by Alfred Wegener. It also describes one of the first ways in which geologists thought continents moved over time from one place to another.

This was the Continental Drift Theory. While Wegener was alive scientists did not believe that the continents could moveFind a map of the continents and cut each one out. Gondwana is composed of Africa Antartica South America Australia and the subcontinents of India.

Pangaea existed about 300 million years ago. This was the time when reptiles and winged insects first appeared. The Theory of Continental Drift which was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912 asserted that there once existed a supercontinent called Pangaea that later broke into two smaller supercontinents.

It also explains why certain animal and plant fossils and similar rock formations appear on different continents. Better yet use a map where the edges of the continents show the continental. The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596.

Continental drift was not accepted when first proposed but in the 1960s it became a cornerstone of the new global theory of plate tecton-ics. Only early scientists like. Laurasia included Asia North America and.

The continental drift theory of Wegener grew out of the need for explaining the major variations of climate in the past. These plates comprise the upper 45 to 60 3. Passage 06 - Early Theories of Continental Drift The idea that the past geography of Earth was different from today is not new.

The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist Alfred Wegener. The mega ocean is known by the name Panthalassa. The theory was developed by Alfred Wegner along with evidences that prooved his theory.

According to Wegeners Continental Drift theory all the continents were one single continental mass called a Super Continent Pangaea and a Mega Ocean surrounded this supercontinent. The theory deals with the distribution of the oceans and the continents.

What Is Meant By Continental Drift Quora