What are the characteristics of continental drift?

Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. Set forth in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also explained why look-alike animal and plant fossils, and similar rock formations, are found on different continents.

What are the four characteristics used in Alfred Wegener’s continental drift theory?

They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.

What are the three components of continental drift?

The processes of seafloor spreading, rift valley formation, and subduction (where heavier tectonic plates sink beneath lighter ones) were not well-established until the 1960s. These processes were the main geologic forces behind what Wegener recognized as continental drift.

What are two observations that supported the theory of continental drift?

The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.

What are examples of continental drift?

The Appalachians of the eastern United States and Canada, for example, are just like mountain ranges in eastern Greenland, Ireland, Great Britain, and Norway. Wegener concluded that they formed as a single mountain range that was separated as the continents drifted.

What is continental drift theory class 11?

Continental Drift Theory It was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. According to Wegener, all the continents formeda single continental mass (called PANGAEA) and meg ocean (called PANTHALASSA) surrounded the same. He argued that, around 200 million years ago, the super continent, Pangaea, began to split.

What is Wegener’s theory of continental drift Class 7?

He proposed that millions of years ago, all landmasses were joined together into a super continent, called Pangaea. He suggested that the Pangaea broke and there was a horizontal displacement of the continents. This is called Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift.

What are four pieces of evidence for continental drift?

The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones’ locations.

What do you understand by continental drift theory Upsc?

Continental drift means the movement of the continents across the ocean bed. This drifting happens very, very slowly, over hundreds of million years! According to Alfred Wegener, all the continents formed a single continental mass known as Pangea (Pan=all + Gea=earth).

What were the problems with the theory of continental drift?

Rejection of Wegener’s theory, 1910s–1950s. The theory of continental drift was not accepted for many years. One problem was that a plausible driving force was missing. A second problem was that Wegener’s estimate of the velocity of continental motion, 250 cm/year, was implausibly high.

What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?

One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.

What is the evidence for continental drift theory?

Continental Drift-Evidence. The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift — more correctly called plate tectonics — includes the following: ► The coasts of the continents surrounding the Atlantic ocean could, if the continents were moved closer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Which theory supports the idea of continental drifts?

The theory of continental drift. Wegener thought all the continents were once joined together in an “Urkontinent” before breaking up and drifting to their current positions.

Evolving theories. When Wegener proposed continental drift,many geologists were contractionists.

Evidence for continental drift.