I. Drifting Continents

A. The Theory of Contiential Drift

1. Wegener's hypothesis was that all continents had once been joined together in one big landmass and have since drifted apart.

2. Pangaea existed a few hundred million years ago. It was a super continent created by all the continents joined together.

3. Wegener gathered information from different scientific fields including landforms, fossils, and climate to prove his idea.

B. Evidence from landforms

1. Wegener discovered a mountain range in South America that matched up with one in Africa. He also found coal fields in Europe that matched up with similar coal fields in North America, somewhat proving his theory.

C. Evidence from fossils

1. Wegener found similar plant fossils in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica. The wide area that these fossils were found helped prove the continental drift theory.

D. Evidence from climate

1. Continents that are closer to the equator are warmer. an island on the coast of Norway called Spitsbergen has fossilized tropical plants, therefore stating that it was once near the equator.

E. Scientists reject Wegener's theory

1.Wegener's theory was brilliant but was rejected. Scientists thought the earth was slowly cooling and shrivling. They belived that mountains were formed from the earth wrinkling up like the skin of a dried apple.