1. 31L Plates on the go 1/9/14 31R Continental Drift notes 1/9/14
WALT: explain continental drift using the moving of plates.

2. What is it?
Continental drift is the hypothesis that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present location.
Alfred Wegener was the scientist who created this hypothesis.
Wegener called this single continent Pangea.

3. Evidence 1. Similar fossils were found on different continents.
2. Rocks in the same formation found on different continents.
3. The continents fit together like puzzle pieces.

4. The Break-Up Wegener thought…
245 million years ago, all the present continents were joined in one continent called Pangea.
180 million years ago, the single continent split into 2 huge continents called Laurasia and Gondwana.
65 million years ago, the 2 continents split again into the current 7 continents.
Plates move very slowly (only cm/yr)