1. Continental CH 4 Prentice Hall p.118-122 CH 4 Prentice Hall p.118-122 Drift

2. Proposed a super continent he called Pangaea (“All Earth”) Proposed his hypothesis of continental drift – Wrote the Origins of the Continents & Oceans 1915. Alfred Wegener Layers of Earth Menu

3. All continents were once together and have slowly drifted over time to their current locations. – Pieces of Evidence: Continental Drift Fit of the Continents Landforms Climatic Evidence Fossil Evidence

4. World Map/ CD Evidence

6. The coast of S. America and Africa fit together like a puzzle 1700’s thought the continents remained fixed 1900’s started to think a new way. Fit of the Continents CD Rift Evidence

7. Landforms Mountain features & other features – South African Mt. ranges line up with a mountain range in Argentina – European coal fields line up with coal fields of North America. CD Rift Evidence

8. A trace of an organism preserved in rock – Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus: reptiles that could not swim across a salty ocean – Found in places now separated by oceans which suggest that the continents were connected. Fossils CD Rift Evidence

9. Glossopteris: a tropical fernlike plant – Found in cooler climates of today, suggest that the continents have since moved – Seeds were too large to be carried by wind. Fossils CD Rift Evidence

10. Fossils of tropical plants were found on the island of Spitsbergen, which is in the Arctic Ocean – A harsh polar climate covered with ice – 300 million years ago, the island had a warm and mild climate – Wegener believed it was closer to the equator. Climate

11. Glacial Evidence found as deep scratches in rocks on South Africa – The climate of S. Africa today is too mild – Suggests that S. Africa was closer to the S. Pole Climate

12. Wegener believed that the climates changed because the position of these places changed – The continent carries the fossil and rock evidence from where it formed and provide evidence for CD. Climate CD Rift Evidence

13. Rejected? Wegener could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the force that pushes or pulls the continents – Geologists rejected his idea until the 1960’s CD Rift Evidence