Continental Drift YouTube Lecture Handouts

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Continental Drift Theory - 5 Evidences and 4 Major Processes

Continental Drift

Abraham Ortelius in 1596

Alfred Wegener in 1912

“Die Entstehung der Kontinente and Ozeane”

Translated in English in 1924

Plate tectonics theory in 1960՚s

Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift
  • Alfred Wegener proposed Continental Drift Theory
  • Proposed that continents had once joined, and drifted apart.
  • Jigsaw fit can be seen from map of soil types below.
Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift
Illustration: Continental Drift

Process of Theory

Illustration: Process of Theory

Criticism of Theory

  • Lack of a mechanism.
  • But had evidence
    • Jigsaw fit of the continents
    • Coal deposits, commonly associated with tropical climate found near the North Pole
    • Plains of Africa would show evidence of glaciation.
    • Fossils of exactly the same species were distributed

Manishika