Continental Drift
Drifting continents
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Early map makers noticed the coasts of
several continents fit together like puzzle
pieces
They thought the continents remained in the
same position
Alfred Wegener
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A German scientist
In 1910 first proposed the theory of
continental drift
Theory states that all of the continents were
once joined in a single landmass
Continents have drifted apart over time
Pangaea
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Wegener named this landmass that occurred
a few million years ago Pangaea
Pangaea means “all-lands”
It contained all of the current continents
It was inhabited by reptiles, insects and
plants
Wegener’s Evidence
Landforms
Where would you find it?
What did it show?
 Mountain ranges match up in
 That identical
South Africa & Argentina
landforms were found
on separate
 American & European coal
continents
fields match up
Wegener’s Evidence
Fossils
What did it show?

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Found fossils of reptiles &
plants in places now
separated by oceans
None could have traveled
across the oceans
Where would you find it?

Found in Africa, south
America, Australia, India, &
Antarctica
Wegener’s Evidence
Climate
What did it show?
 Evidence of ancient
climates on continents
were different than their
current climates
Where would you find it?
 Spitsbergen an island in
the Artic has tropical
plant fossils meaning it
was in a warm climate
millions of years ago
 South Africa has
evidence of past
glaciations so it must
have been in a much
colder climate
Continental Drift

Wegener believed mountains formed
when continents collided and their
edges would crumple and fold pushing
rocks upward

Wegener could not provide an
explaination for the force that pushed
or pulled the continents so geologists
rejected his theory

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth
_science/terc/content/visualizations/es
0806/es0806page01.cfm?chapter_no=
visualization

http://ees.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/
elearning/module04swf.swf
4-3 Review

Who is this man and what was his
theory?

This is a picture of a Lystrosaurus. How did this
support Wegener’s theory?

Why couldn’t the
Glossopteris exist
on continents
separated by
oceans?
What does this picture represent?
This is Spitzbergen
today. How has it
changed? How do
we know?
This map shows that
glaciers existed in
South Africa. How
does this prove
Wegener’s theory?
Mountain formation
This image shows
how Wegener
explained the
formation of
mountains. He was
one of the first to
come up with this
idea. What was it?
Pangaea
What was Pangaea?
When did it exist?
Poor Alfred!
What happened to him?
Why?