EVIDENCE FROM ROCKS

- Fossils found in rocks support the Continental Drift Theory.

- The rocks themselves provides evidence that continents drifted apart from
each other.

EXAMPLE:

THE FOLDED CAPE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH AMERICA AND AFRICA; they are lined up
perfectly as they were once a long mountain range.

COAL DEPOSITS

- Coal Beds were formed from the compaction and decomposition of swamp
plants that lived million years ago.
- These were discovered in South America, Africa, Indian Subcontinent,
Southeast Asia, and Antarctica.

HOW IS A COAL BED POSSIBLE IN ANTARCTICA?

- The current location of Antarctica could not sustain substantial amount

of life. If there is a substantial quantity of coal in it, thus, Antarctica must
have been positioned in a part of the Earth where it once supported large
quantities of life - this leads to the idea that Antarctica once experienced a
tropical climate.

THE SEAFLOOR SPREADING

- Wegener's theory that the continents were once joined together was not
accepted by the scientific society until the 1960s. He wasn't able to explain how
this drifting took place. This made scientists conduct further studies in search of
the answer.

- Scientists have discovered underwater features deep within the ocean for the
first time. New techniques and gadgets have enabled them to make better
observations and gather new information about the ocean floor.

-Scientists have discovered an undersea mountain system in the Atlantic Ocean

that is similar to those found on land in the Earth's continents. The famous Mid-
Atlantic Ridge has a gigantic cleft about 32-48 km long and 1.6 km deep, and is
offset by fracture zones or rift valleys.

> In the place where two oceanic plates collide or where an oceanic plate
and a continental plate collide, a subduction zone occurs.

(Subduction Zone pic)

> This explains why the Pacific Ocean is getting smaller and why the
Atlantic Ocean is getting wider. If subduction is faster than seafloor spreading,
the
ocean shrinks. When the seafloor spreading is greater than the subduction,
then the ocean gets wider.

Findings that support Seafloor Spreading Theory:

1. Rocks are younger at the mid-ocean ridge.
 2. Rocks far from the mid-ocean ridge are older.
3. Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
4. Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than those at the continents.

MAGNETIC REVERSAL

- Magnetic reversal is also called magnetic 'flip' of the Earth. It happens

when the North Pole is transformed into a South Pole and the South Pole becomes the
North Pole. This is due to the change in the direction of flow in the outer core.