What is the theory of continental drift?
Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time. 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. …
What was the main idea of Wegener’s continental drift theory?
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.
What is the name of the theory for the movement of continents?
Continental drift, large-scale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it.
What is the theory of continental drift quizlet?
What is the theory of continental drift? Hypothesis that states that continents once formed a single land mass and broke apart and drifted to their current location.
Who first proposed the theory of continental drift quizlet?
In 1915, the German geologist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of continental drift, which states that parts of the Earth’s crust slowly drift atop a liquid core.
What is the difference between continental drift and plate tectonics theory?
The difference between continental drift and plate tectonics is that the theory of continental drift states that the world was made up of a single continent. The theory of plate-tectonics, on the other hand, states that earth’s surface is broken into numbers of shifting plates or slabs.
What cause the plates to move?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.
Which best describes the theory of plate tectonics?
The statement that best describes the theory of plate tectonics is the one that says that sections of Earth’s continents are in slow constant movement. Explanation: According to plate tectonic theory, the outermost part of the earth’s interior consists of two layers, the outer lithosphere and the inner asthenosphere.
What are the 2 theories behind why tectonic plates move?
Why do plates move? One explanation for plate movements is slab pull. Plates are extremely heavy so gravity acts upon them, pulling them apart. Alternatively, as shown in the diagram, convection currents under the Earth’s crust transfer heat, which rises through the surface and cools back down in a circular motion.
How many tectonic plates are there?
how many tectonic plates are there? There are major, minor and micro tectonic plates. There are seven major plates: African, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North American, Pacific and South American.
How thick are tectonic plates?
Plates are on average 125km thick, reaching maximum thickness below mountain ranges. Oceanic plates (50-100km) are thinner than the continental plates (up to 200km) and even thinner at the ocean ridges where the temperatures are higher.
Which is the largest oceanic plate in the world?
Pacific plate
What is the most famous plate boundary?
San Andreas Fault