What is the best theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents were once united into a single supercontinent named Pangaea, meaning all earth in ancient Greek. He suggested that Pangaea broke up long ago and that the continents then moved to their current positions. He called his hypothesis continental drift.
What is the name of the theory that explains continental drift?
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s land masses are in constant motion. The realization that Earth’s land masses move was first proposed by Alfred Wegener, which he called continental drift.
What does the theory of continental drift and theory of plate tectonics state?
According to the theory of continental drift, the world was made up of a single continent through most of geologic time. According to the generally accepted plate-tectonics theory, scientists believe that Earth’s surface is broken into a number of shifting slabs or plates, which average about 50 miles in thickness.
What is continental drift theory 11th geography?
The theory of continental drift points out that the Earth’s continents are constantly drifting away from each other. According to this theory: all the continents were one single continental mass (called a Super Continent) – Pangaea. The earth’s crust is made of up of many sections called tectonic plates.
What is continental drift theory for 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 were problems with the theory of continental drift?
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 speed of continental motion, 250 cm/year, was implausibly high.
Which theory supports the idea of continental drifts?
The causes of continental drift are perfectly explained by the plate tectonic theory. The earth’s outer shell is composed of plates that move a little bit every year. Heat coming from the interior of the earth triggers this movement to occur through convection currents inside the mantle.
What is the evidence that support 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 is evidence supporting 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.