1. I feel the earth move… under my feet! -Carole King
Plate Tectonics
I feel the earth move…
under my feet!
-Carole King

2. Continental Drift
It all started (well, finished, sort of…) with a German meteorologist, Alfred Wegener
He presented his theory in 1912
All the continents were once joined as one great landmass, Pangaea! They had moved or drifted to their current positions over millions of years.

3. “The Origin of Continents and Oceans”
Published in 1915
Rejected and ridiculed by geologists – what force could possibly move such large land masses!

4. The earth moves…

5. How did Wegener know this?
In modern times, we can easily measure the amount of movement in the continents. We can use GPS and other modern technologies. In 1912, Wegener had no computer, just his logical brain.
He used the evidence he found in geology and fossil records to theorize what we now know to be true: the continents shift.

6. The fossil record for some very old organisms…

7. And there’s coal…in…Antarctica?
Now, just a minute! Coal is formed from equatorial, jungle plants, pressure, and heat…how did coal end up in Antarctica?
The theory (and remember where theory fits in the hierarchy of science?) is that the coal in Pennsylvania also originated at the equator!
Wegener realized that no other explanation could make sense of the coal in frozen areas.

8. Glaciers…in…Africa? No way!
He also found evidence of glacial deposits in sweltering Africa!

9. Continental Drift…Accepted!
In 1960’s, new technology showed indisputable evidence that the seafloor in the Atlantic Ocean is spreading!
Harry Hess, WWII Navy Captain – evidence the ocean crust moves!

10. These are the plates…

11. An extreme close-up: What are the highest mountains in the world?
Where are they in relation to this picture?
Did you know they’re still growing? (about 5 mm / year)