Theory of Continental Drift I

Alfred Wegener German Meteorologist Geophysicist Formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis.

Pangaea Hypothesis Alfred Wegener Greek word "pan" means "all" and Gaea or Gaia (or Ge) was the Greek name of the divine personification of the Earth all the Earth All continents were together forming a supercontinent called Pangaea

Proof I: Earth as a jigsaw puzzle Coastlines of eastern South America and western Africa seemed to fit together

Proof II: Evidence from fossils Fossils of the same species could be found in Brazil and western Africa

Proof III: Similar signs of glaciation Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different continents very close to the equator – evidence that would indicate that the glaciers either formed in the middle of the ocean and/or covered most of the Earth.

Proof IV: Formation of mountains at different times Mountain ranges occurred as narrow bands predominantly at the edge of continents. He thus concluded these are formed when the edge of drifting continents crumpled and folded when they collided with other continents as was the case for Himalayas, forming when India collided with Asia.

References Wegener Wegener -theory-lets-think-this-through/ -theory-lets-think-this-through/ r-continental-drift.html r-continental-drift.html tm tm

Quiz 1.Who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis? 2.What are the two continents that he noticed first? 3.What is the supercontinent called? 4-5. List two proofs that we discussed

Answers 1.Alfred Wegener 2.South America and Africa 3.Pangaea 4-5. Proof I: Earth as a jigsaw puzzle Proof II: Evidence from fossil Proof III: Similar signs of glaciation Proof IV: Formation of mountains at different times