CONTINENTAL

DRIFT THEORY AND

PLATE TECTONICS
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
 Was a theory that explained how continents shift
position on Earth's surface. 
 Alfred Wegener was one of several people who
thought the continents looked like they fit
together, so he proposed the continental drift theory
in 1912.
 Wegener was a meteorologist and astronomer so
needless to say other scientists thought he was out
of his field of study.
HIS STUDIES CONCLUDED THAT AT ONE
TIME ALL THE CONTINENTS WERE JOINED
TOGETHER IN ONE LAND MASS CALLED
PANGAEA.
1. Laurasia was the name given to the
northern part of Pangaea
2. Gondwanaland was the name given to
the southern part of Pangaea

Scientists thought this theory was

outrageous because even though Wegener
had evidence of one large land mass, he
didn’t have the answers to what force
(engine) “floated the plates”.  He was
laughed at and did not live to see his theory
accepted.
 WEGENER'S  5 PIECES OF EVIDENCE TO
PROVE HIS CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY:

 1.) Puzzle pieces

The continents, especially South America and Africa,

seemed to fit together like a puzzle.
 2.) FOSSIL EVIDENCE
 Wegner noticed that plant and animal
fossils were found on different continents.
 Do you think they swam all the way across the
oceans? NO!
 This would lead people to believe that
the continents were once joined.
3.) ROCK EVIDENCE
 Huge belts of rocks found in Africa and South America were identical.  Not only were they
the same, but they would match up (age, thickness, types) if the continents were put together.
 Matching Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains that disappear off the coast of Newfoundland match mountains in

the British Isles and Scandinavia which are comparable in age and structure.
4.) GLACIER EVIDENCE
 There is proof that glaciers moved from Africa, through the Atlantic Ocean, and then on
towards South America.  This would be much easier if the Atlantic Ocean were not there.
Glacial Striations…Scratches glaciers leave on rocks as they travel.
5.) CLIMATE EVIDENCE
 Warm weather plants have been found in the Arctic… but it’s not warm there!
 Glacier deposits have been discovered in tropical and desert locations…it’s not cold there,
either!
 The continents had to have been at different locations in the geological past.
PLATE TECTONICS
 Plates are driven by cooling of
Earth (convection)
 Gravity provides additional force to
move plates.
WHAT ARE THE TECTONIC
PLATES
1. Lithospheric plate (Lithosphere)
 The 100-km-thick surface of the Earth;
 Contains crust and part of the upper mantle;
 It is rigid and brittle;
 Fractures to produce earthquakes.

2. Asthenosphere
 Is the hotter upper mantle below the lithospheric plate;
 Can flow like silly putty; and
 Is a viscoelastic solid, NOT liquid!!
THREE BASIC TYPES OF
PLATE BOUNDARIES
 1. divergent
 2. convergent
 3. transform
 
TECTONIC PLATES
 There are a dozen large lithospheric plates (smaller plates not shown).
Some plates have continents; some don’t.  All are in motion.
EARTHQUAKES & PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 The  earthquakes
coincide with plate
boundaries, and the
deepest quakes are in
subduction zones.