1. A Puzzle for the Ages
Continental Drift

2. Alfred Wegener
In 1910 a German scientist hypothesized that the continents were at one time all joined together.
Pangea = All Lands
He began to gather evidence from different scientific fields like fossils, geology, evidence of climate change.
1915 he published the book “The Origin Of Continental Drift”

4. Evidence From Lands Continents line up
Mountain ranges in Africa and South America
Coal fields in Europe and North America

5. Evidence from Fossils The mighty glossopteris
Mesosaurus & Lystrosaurus –
All of these are found in areas that are now separated by large bodies of water.

7. Evidence from Climate
Fossils from tropical plants found on an island close to the north pole
Evidence of glaciers in South Africa

8. Toooo Bad – Soooo Sad Hypothesis was rejected
Geologists believed that the earth was shrinking.
Wegener believed if that were true why were there not mountains all over the earth

9. Grasping the key concepts
What was Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis about the continents?
What evidence supported Wegeners hypothesis?
Why was Wegeners hypothesis rejected by most scientists of his day?