Evidence of Plate Tectonics

The original conjectures concerning plate tectonics were based on circumstantial evidence like
the shapes of continents being such that they would fit well if pushed together.

Among the classes of evidence for continental drift and the underlying plate tectonics we may
list

The shapes of certain continents are

such that they appear like parts of a
jig-saw puzzle are divided. For
example, look at the shape of the
east coast of North and South
America in relation to the shape of
the west coast of Africa and Europe
on the adjacent map.
Many fossil parallels that look like
they match together around the
edges of continents imply similarities
of organisms that would only make
sense if at some stage in the past
the two continents were united.
Around the conjectured plate boundaries, a considerable volume of seismic, volcanic,
and geothermal activity occurs. This is clearly seen below in the figure labeled "Crustal
plate borders" where for a 10-year duration the epicenters of earthquakes above Richter
magnitude 5.0 are plotted. The focus is striking, and this plot actually serves extremely
well to establish the plate boundaries.
There are ridges, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (see figures above and below), where
plates are separated as they pull apart, created by lava welling up from between the
plates. Similarly, mountain ranges are formed where plates push against each other.

Plate tectonic motion, which may be only centimeters per century, is now being studied by
careful laser ranging techniques that are capable of detecting such small motions.