1. Guided Notes about Continental Drift
Chapter 17, Section 1

2. 1. Who were the first to consider the idea of moving landmasses?
Early mapmakers were the first to consider moving landmasses. They noticed how continents fit together.

3. 2. Construct a flow map or timeline…
1. Abraham Ortelius—late 1500’s:
- thought that North America and South America were separated from Europe and Africa by floods and earthquakes.

4. 2. Construct a flow map or timeline…
2. Eduard Suess—late 1800’s:
thought that the Southern continents
were once joined together as a single
landmass, which he called
Gondwanaland

5. 2. Construct a flow map or timeline…
3. Alfred Wegener—1912:
-proposed the theory of continental drift,but it was rejected by the scientific community

6. 3. Describe Wegener’s theory of continental drift and Pangaea.
Earth’s continents were once joined as a single landmass. Wegener called it Pangaea, which means “all the Earth”. It broke apart 200 million years ago, and since that time, the continents have been drifting to their current positions.

7. Evidence for Continental Drift
FIT OF THE COASTLINES
the coasts of South America and Africa fit together like a puzzle in the Atlantic Ocean

8. Evidence for Continental Drift
SIMILAR ROCK FORMATIONS
Rocks in areas that were once joined have the same age and structure, such as the Appalachian Mountains and mountains in Greenland and Europe.

9. Evidence for Continental Drift
FOSSILS
Fossils of land animals and plants were found in widely separated continents. These fossils are all the same age, which suggests that all land was once joined.
Glossopteris (an ancient fern-like plant)
Mesosaurus (a small aquatic reptile)

10. Evidence for Continental Drift
CLIMATE EVIDENCE
Layers of coal were found in polar regions
Glacial deposits were found in tropical and temperate regions

11. 5. Why was Wegener’s hypothesis rejected?
1. Wegener could not explain what was causing the continents to move.
2. Wegener could not explain how the continents were able to move through the solid rock of the ocean floor.