Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift

Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift

Observations of the earth hadn't been explained:

1) Fossils of very similar plants and animals had been found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Most people thought this was because the continents had been linked by land bridges, which had sunk or been covered by water as the Earth cooled. But not everyone was convinced.

2) Other things about the earth also puzzled people. For example things like why the coastlines of African and South America matched so well and why fooils from sea creatures had been found high in the Alps.

Explaining these observations:

1) Alfred Wegener hypothesised that Africa and South America had previously been one continent which had then split.

2) After further research he found that there were matching layers in the rocks on different continents and similar fossils in both South America and Africa.

3) Wegener's theory of Continental Drift supposed that about 300 million years ago there had been just one big supercontinent,…