What are six pieces of evidence for the continental drift theory? Reptile Fossils – dinosaurs couldn’t have swam across a vast ocean. Plant Fossils- all these regions were once connected and had similar climates. Tropical plants found in Arctic- tropical plants can’t grow in cold climates.
What are 4 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 .
Is there is little evidence for the theory of continental drift?
Although the evidence for continental drift was extremely strong, scientists rejected the idea because no mechanism for how solid continents could move around on the solid earth was developed. The discovery of apparent polar wander renewed scientists interest in continental drift.
What evidence best supports the theory of continental drift?
Fossil Evidence
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 are 6 pieces of evidence that support continental drift?
- Fossils.
- Continents fit like Puzzle Pieces. Matching fossils preserved in rocks of the same age but found on different continents. Ex. ...
- Matching Rocks. Puzzle – like fit of continental shelves. Ex. ...
- Mountain Ranges.
- Glacier Striations.
- Coal Beds.
How do we know Pangea existed?
The rock formations of eastern North America, Western Europe, and northwestern Africa were later found to have a common origin, and they overlapped in time with the presence of Gondwanaland. Together, these discoveries supported the existence of Pangea. ... Modern geology has shown that Pangea did actually exist .
What is continental drift theory explain?
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 3 pieces of evidence for Pangea?
Alfred Wegener, in the first three decades of this century, and DuToit in the 1920s and 1930s gathered evidence that the continents had moved. 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 two pieces of evidence for seafloor spreading?
Several types of evidence from the oceans supported Hess’s theory of sea-floor spreading- evidence from molten material, magnetic stripes, and drilling samples . This evidence also led sci- entists to look again at Wegener’s theory of continental drift.
Why was the continental drift theory rejected?
This idea was quickly rejected by the scientific community primarily because the actual forces generated by the rotation of the earth were calculated to be insufficient to move continents .
What are the 5 evidences of 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 .
Why is continental drift accepted now?
Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics. The continents are still moving today . ... As the seafloor grows wider, the continents on opposite sides of the ridge move away from each other.
Who is the father of the continental drift theory?
Alfred Wegener : The Father of Continental Drift.
What is the best piece of evidence for plate tectonics?
Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some life “rode” on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new species.
What is the difference between plate tectonics and continental drift?
The main difference between plate tectonics and continental drift is that plate tectonics describes the features and movement of Earth’s surface in the present and in the past whereas continental drift describes the drifting of Earth’s continents on the ocean bed.
What evidence did Alfred use?
He used fossil evidence , such as that of tropical plants found on the Arctic island of Spitzbergen. He found large-scale geographic features that matched, like the Appalachian Mountains in the United States and the Scottish Highlands, as well as rock strata in South Africa that matched those in Brazil.
