1. Restless Continents

2. Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift  Alfred Wegener looked at the continents as a puzzle.  He came up with the theory of “Continental Drift.”  Continental Drift is the theory that continents can drift apart from one another and have done so in the past.  Continental Drift also explained how fossils of the same plant and animal species are found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Continental Drift

4. Pangea  Pangea: is the idea that there was one single land mass called Pangea.  Pangea existed approximately 245 million years ago.  180 million years ago, two big pieces broke apart into Laurasia and Gondwana

5. The Breakup of Pangea

6. Sea-Floor Spreading  Sea-Floor Spreading occurs when new oceanic lithosphere is created as older materials are pulled away.  When Sea-Floor Spreading occurs, tectonic plates move away from each other causing the continents to move on the Earth’s surface.  Sea-Floor Spreading was the evidence that supported Wegner’s Theory of Continental Drift.

7. Sea-Floor Spreading