Post on 10-Jan-2016
Continental Drift
Drifting continents
Early map makers noticed the coasts of several continents fit together like puzzle pieces
They thought the continents remained in the same position
Alfred Wegener A German scientist In 1910 first proposed the theory of
continental drift Theory states that all of the continents were
once joined in a single landmass Continents have drifted apart over time
Pangaea Wegener named this landmass that occurred a
few million years ago Pangaea Pangaea means “all-lands” It contained all of the current continents It was inhabited by reptiles, insects and plants
Wegener’s EvidenceLandforms
What did it show? That identical
landforms were found on separate continents
Where would you find it? Mountain ranges match up in
South Africa & Argentina
American & European coal fields match up
Wegener’s EvidenceFossils
What did it show? Found fossils of reptiles &
plants in places now separated by oceans
None could have traveled across the oceans
Where would you find it? Found in Africa, south
America, Australia, India, & Antarctica
Wegener’s EvidenceClimate
What did it show? Evidence of ancient
climates on continents were different than their current climates
Where would you find it? Spitsbergen an island in
the Artic has tropical plant fossils meaning it was in a warm climate millions of years ago
South Africa has evidence of past glaciations so it must have been in a much colder climate
Continental Drift
Wegener believed mountains formed when continents collided and their edges would crumple and fold pushing rocks upward
Wegener could not provide an explaination for the force that pushed or pulled the continents so geologists rejected his theory
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0806/es0806page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization
http://ees.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module04swf.swf
4-3 Review
Who is this man and what was his theory?
This is a picture of a Lystrosaurus. How did this support Wegener’s theory?
Why couldn’t the Glossopteris exist on continents separated by oceans?
What does this picture represent?
This is Spitzbergentoday. How has it changed? How do we know?
This map shows that glaciers existed in South Africa. How does this prove Wegener’s theory?
Mountain formation
This image shows how Wegener explained the formation of mountains. He was one of the first to come up with this idea. What was it?
PangaeaWhat was Pangaea?When did it exist?
Poor Alfred!What happened to him?Why?