Continental CH 4 Prentice Hall p CH 4 Prentice Hall p Drift

Proposed a super continent he called Pangaea (“All Earth”) Proposed his hypothesis of continental drift – Wrote the Origins of the Continents & Oceans Alfred Wegener Layers of Earth Menu

All continents were once together and have slowly drifted over time to their current locations. – Pieces of Evidence: Continental Drift Fit of the Continents Landforms Climatic Evidence Fossil Evidence

World Map/ CD Evidence

The coast of S. America and Africa fit together like a puzzle 1700’s thought the continents remained fixed 1900’s started to think a new way. Fit of the Continents CD Rift Evidence

Landforms Mountain features & other features – South African Mt. ranges line up with a mountain range in Argentina – European coal fields line up with coal fields of North America. CD Rift Evidence

A trace of an organism preserved in rock – Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus: reptiles that could not swim across a salty ocean – Found in places now separated by oceans which suggest that the continents were connected. Fossils CD Rift Evidence

Glossopteris: a tropical fernlike plant – Found in cooler climates of today, suggest that the continents have since moved – Seeds were too large to be carried by wind. Fossils CD Rift Evidence

Fossils of tropical plants were found on the island of Spitsbergen, which is in the Arctic Ocean – A harsh polar climate covered with ice – 300 million years ago, the island had a warm and mild climate – Wegener believed it was closer to the equator. Climate

Glacial Evidence found as deep scratches in rocks on South Africa – The climate of S. Africa today is too mild – Suggests that S. Africa was closer to the S. Pole Climate

Wegener believed that the climates changed because the position of these places changed – The continent carries the fossil and rock evidence from where it formed and provide evidence for CD. Climate CD Rift Evidence

Rejected? Wegener could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the force that pushes or pulls the continents – Geologists rejected his idea until the 1960’s CD Rift Evidence