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What is continental drift theory simple?
Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth’s continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have “drifted” across the ocean bed. The speculation that continents might have ‘drifted’ was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596.
What is continental drift theory and its evidences?
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists began to put together evidence that the continents could move around on Earth’s surface. 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 is continental drift Class 11?
Continental Drift Theory According to Wegener, all the continents formeda single continental mass (called PANGAEA) and meg ocean (called PANTHALASSA) surrounded the same. Pangaea first broke into two large continental masses: Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Subsequently they broke into various smallercontinents.
What is continental drift theory class 5?
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 was Wegener’s hypothesis about the continents?
In the early 20th century, Wegener published a paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other. He called this movement continental drift.
Who first proposed the theory of continental theory?
The first truly detailed and comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist. Bringing together a large mass of geologic and paleontological data, Wegener postulated that throughout most of geologic time there was only one continent, which he called Pangea.
What is the Continental axis theory?
Continental Axis Theory is the brain-child of Jared Diamond & it hypothesizes that continents with wide E/W axes, as opposed to N/S axes, are advantageous to indigenous human genotypes.
What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?
Evidence of Continental Drift. Some of the evidence supporting the continental drift of the tectonic plates include the presence of similar animals and plant fossils on the shores of various continents, which suggest that they were once joined. Fossils of a freshwater reptile known as Mesosaurus was found both in South Africa and Brazil.
What were the problems with the theory of continental drift?
The main problem with Wegener’s hypothesis of Continental Drift was the lack of a mechanism. He did not have an explanation for how the continents moved. His attempt to explain it using tides only made things worse. But both Galileo and Darwin had serious flaws in their theories when they were first presented.