Continental Drift Theory & Pangaea Lecture

These vocabulary flashcards cover key people, terms, evidence types, and noted weaknesses associated with Alfred Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory and the history of Pangaea.

Continental Drift Theory

The proposal that Earth’s continents move relative to one another, slowly drifting across the ocean floor.

Pangaea

A single supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago before breaking apart into today’s continents.

Laurasia

The northern landmass created when Pangaea first split; eventually became North America, Europe, and Asia (excluding India).

Gondwanaland (Gondwana)

The southern landmass produced from Pangaea’s breakup; later separated into South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica.

Panthalassa

The vast global ocean that surrounded Pangaea, literally meaning “all sea.”

Alfred Wegener

German meteorologist (1880-1930) who fully developed and published the continental drift hypothesis in “The Origin of Continents and Oceans.”

Abraham Ortelius

16th-century cartographer who first suggested that the coasts of the Americas and Europe-Africa once fit together, hinting at continental drift.

Eduard Suess

Austrian geologist who proposed ancient land bridges to explain similar fossils found on distant continents.

Roberto Mantovani

Italian scientist who argued that Earth has been expanding, causing continents to separate.

Frank Bursley Taylor

American geologist who envisioned continents being dragged by tidal forces, an early drift idea pre-dating Wegener.

Alexander du Toit

South African geologist who supported a supercontinent concept using Mesosaurus fossils to link South America and Africa.

Puzzle-Piece Fit (Topographic Evidence)

Observation that continental margins—especially South America and Africa—fit together like jigsaw pieces, supporting former connection.

Fossil Correlation

Matching fossils (e.g., Mesosaurus, Glossopteris) found on widely separated continents indicating they were once joined.

Mesosaurus

Freshwater reptile whose fossils appear in both South America and Africa, key evidence for continental drift.

Glossopteris

Extinct seed-fern whose fossils on several southern continents support their former unity within Gondwana.

Rock Belt Continuity

Identical rock types and structures (e.g., mountain belts) on opposite continental margins implying past connection.

Appalachian–Caledonian Match

Example of continuous mountain ranges stretching from North America to Europe when continents are re-assembled.

Paleoclimatic Evidence

Clues such as tropical coal in Antarctica and glacial deposits in present warm regions, suggesting continents moved through different climate zones rather than Earth’s climate changing drastically.

Glacial Till Deposits

Scratched and unsorted sediments in South America, Africa, India, and Australia indicating continental ice once covered these now-warm areas.

Orogeny

The geological process of mountain building, often resulting from continental collisions driven by drift (e.g., Himalayas, Andes).

Wegener’s Driving-Force Problem

Major weakness of early drift theory: Wegener could not identify a mechanism strong enough to move continents across the seafloor.

Coal Deposits in Antarctica

Evidence that the continent once lay in a tropical climate zone, backing the idea of continental movement.

Continental Shelf Fit

Refinement by Alexander du Toit showing that continental shelves—rather than shorelines—align even more precisely when continents are re-assembled.

Seaways & Biodiversity Effect

Break-up of Pangaea increased shoreline length and isolated landmasses, fostering diversification of plants and animals.