What fossil evidence supports continental drift?
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 2 important fossils used to support continental drift?
EVIDENCE FOR CONTINENTAL DRIFT
- Fossils of the seed fern Glossopteris were too heavy to be carried so far by wind.
- Mesosaurus was a swimming reptile but could only swim in fresh water.
- Cynognathus and Lystrosaurus were land reptiles and were unable to swim.
What was found on several continents in order to better support continental drift?
Fossils of similar organisms across widely disparate continents encouraged the revolutionary theory of continental drift. Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time.
What discovery provided strong support for continental drift theory?
Increased knowledge about the configuration of the ocean floor and the subsequent formulation of the concepts of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics provided further support for continental drift.
Why was the continental drift theory rejected?
The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true.
What was Wegener’s hypothesis called?
The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by Alfred Wegener. Wegener said that continents move around on Earth’s surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. He called his hypothesis continental drift.
Who discovered Pangea?
Alfred Wegener
What evidence supports the theory of ocean floor?
Abundant evidence supports the major contentions of the seafloor-spreading theory. First, samples of the deep ocean floor show that basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment become progressively younger as the mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is thinner near the ridge.
What supports Wegener’s theory of plate tectonics?
The mobilists were in the opposite camp and supported Wegener’s ideas, since many of them had seen evidence for continental motion, especially in the Alps. Since the north pole is essentially fixed, except during periods of magnetic reversals, this piece of evidence strongly supports the idea of plate tectonics.
What are 4 pieces of evidence that support the theory of plate tectonics?
There is variety of evidence that supports the claims that plate tectonics accounts for (1) the distribution of fossils on different continents, (2) the occurrence of earthquakes, and (3) continental and ocean floor features including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches.
What are the 6 pieces of evidence for the theory of continental drift?
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 is the difference between continental drift and plate tectonics?
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 are 3 possible causes of plate tectonics?
In this lesson, we explore the causes of plate movement, including thermal convection, ridge push and slab pull.
What are the 3 types of continental drift?
There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.