Chapter 1-3

 Hypothesized by Alfred Wegner in 1910  Believed that continents were once one giant landmass  Published evidence in book “The Origin of Continents and Oceans” in 1915  Called supercontinent Pangaea

 Means “all lands”  Believed to exist 300 million years ago  Thought to have broken apart over tens of millions of years ago

 Continents look to fit together like jigsaw puzzle  Mountain ranges in South America and Africa match up  Coal fields of Europe and North America match up

 Fossils of fernlike plant Glossopteris from 250 million years ago have been found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica  Fossils of freshwater reptiles Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus found in places separated by water; neither could swim

 Fossils of tropical plants found on the island of Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean  Scratches on rocks from glaciers in South Africa

 Could not explain the cause  Disputed idea on how mountains formed