Continental drift 🌍

Alfred Wegener discovered the theory first, who was a meteorologist. He first published the theory in 1912, and suggested all of the continents in the world had once been joined together in a world-sixed super continent called Pangea. Pangea was also said to have been surrounded by one massive ocean called Panthalassa. He believed that approximately 200 million years ago Pangea broke in half, and formed two sub-continents, Laurasia (the northern hemisphere) and Gondwanaland (the southern hemisphere) , these two continents were separated by the Tethys Sea. He then claimed that Laurasia and Gondwanaland have continued to move farther and farther apart, forming the current continents. Finally, he claimed that these colliding continents were responsible for the folding of rock into mountain ranges, this was his only incorrect information. This has proven to occur due to movement and collision of plates. At the time, his ideas were rejected by the geologists and scientists of the time, who said the earth had shrunken over time. His theory wasn’t accepted until 36 years after his death, in 1963, when the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was discovered to be part of a volcanic submarine mountain range, this provided sufficient evidence for his theory. Now, it is fully accepted.

There are three main proofs of continental drift; continental fit, matching fossils and matching rocks and mountain ranges. Firstly, continental fit; the coastline of continents appear so similar that were they pushed back together, they would fit like a puzzle piece. This notion was originally shunned, with scientists claiming that could be due to erosion or deposition, but in the 1960s they discovered the continental shelves of South America and Africa were almost identical, proving the theory. Next, is matching fossils. Comparable fossils have been found in the precise locations that Wegener believed continents were once joined. Finally, there is matching rocks and mountain ranges. Many mountain ranges end one the edge of one land mass, only to appear to recommence on the opposing edge of a neighbouring land mass, many identical in age, structure and rock type.