Continental Portrait, 1915

In 1596- Abraham Ortelius took note that the coastlines of the continents seemed to be too fitting together. He initiated a theory that stated that the continents were probably joined at one point in time and were torn apart between Europe and Africa. In the year of 1912, Alfred Wegener stated that the continents were once joined in a supercontinent called Pangea.

Volcanic and Seismic events are major pieces of evidence towards proving that plate tectonics theory is valid (40 marks)

Have you ever thought of the idea that the continents were once connected? Scientists believe that around 300 million years ago the seven continents we know today were once connected to each other to form one massive continent called Pangea. There is a lot of evidence that supports this idea. First of all, some continents have coastlines that would fit together like puzzle pieces. Secondly, there have been almost identical fossils found on different continents separated by miles of ocean. Lastly, similar glacier deposits are on four different continents.

The theory of plate tectonics was first developed by Alfred Wegener. He concluded that the continents seem to have a similar shape and could potentially fit together. This suggested that they were at one time joined together as part of 2 super continents called Gondwanaland and Laurasia was in the north. This theory was said to be proven by the discovery of fossilised remains of a mesosaurus that were found on the coasts of Brazil and Gabon. Sea floor spreading is another theory that supports the idea of plate tectonics; this theory discovered that rock is being formed under the ocean as a new sea floor. Sea floor spreading was shown in the Atlantic, where it is believed the Eurasian and North American plates are moving apart on a

Who proposed that all of the present continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea?

“Annals of the Former World” puts four of John McPhee’s books on the geology and geological history of North America together. They bring up the scientists who found the information that explains the history of North America. McPhee had joined some of them on expeditions, and described the work they did, as well as recorded the ideas they had.

Schulz’s article is split into five sections. The first section introduces the readers to Chris Goldfinger, a paleoseismologist at Oregon State University. Goldfinger was at a seismology conference in Kashiwa, Japan when the 2011 Tohoku

Hildebrand, (2009, 2003) attempts to integrate both observed geologic features (hinterland high grade metamorphism, Laramide basement uplifts, Cordilleran batholiths, regional-scale Neogene extension) and the lack of observed features (large scale strike/slip faults), while matching paleomagnetic data (large amounts of northward motion in the oceanic realm exist with no evidence on land) (Fern Esperanza beetle-Moorcroft, MS Thesis, 2014).

2. What was the first line of evidence that led early investigators to suspect that the continents were once connected?

Was pangea real or is it all a mystery,nobody knows if pangea is real because it still remains a mystery I think,let's find out.long long ago the earth wasn't seven continents it was just one big landmass surrounded by a ocean called panthalassa. Alfred winger was the person that found out about Pangea. He figured out that Africa and South America fit together. And also from my own experience I was watching The History Channel then there were two of the same dinosaurs in Africa and South America at the same tip of each continent that's why they know that Pangea is real because dinosaurs cannot swim across a whole ocean .

Questions were raised when rocks were found on the surface of the Earth that had manetization the did not corralate to the location that it was found. Also, Harry Hess suggested that the continents could have drifted and still were because the sea floor was moving much like a conveyor. (Bugielski, 1999).

The earth has been through a lot of changes throughout time. It used to be thought that the continents were locked in their positions and couldn’t move, but in 1915 Alfred Wagner came up with a theory about continental drift (Tarbuck and Lutgens, 2015). While unsure of the process that happened at the time, Wagner also came up with the idea that all the continents in existence today were once all connected as one giant continent known as Pangea. This idea is supported by the findings of similar rocks or fossils in multiple locations separated by large water bodies. Thanks to more tools and funding, the oceanic ridge system was found and by 1968, the theory of plate tectonics was introduced (Tarbuck and Lutgens, 2015). This theory

Wegener provided numerous explanations and documentation in support of his continental drift theory. He provided two fossils as evidence. Glossopteris because it had been found on several continents that were widely separated. Glossopteris, also known as a seed fern fossil, was too large to be transported by the wind. The other was Mesosaurus which was a small aquatic freshwater reptile (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014, p. 154). Other scientists believed this was possible because land bridges had once existed or explained it away as drafting. Wegener most likely did not offer fossil sharks or jellyfish as evidence due to the fact that these fish inhabit all major oceans on the planet.

In the middle of the eighteenth century, James Hutton proposed a theory, uniformitarianism; “the present is the key to the past”. It held that processes such as geologic forces- gradual and catastrophic-occurring in the present were the same that operated in the past. (Matt Rosenberg, 2004) This theory coincides with the theory of Continental Drift that was first proposed by Abraham Ortelius in December 1596, who suggested that North, South America, Africa and Eurasia were once connected but had been torn apart by earthquakes and floods. He also discovered that the coasts of the eastern part of South America and the

Alfred Wegener was a German Polar Researcher, geophysicist, and a meteorologist. He was born in November of 1880, and later died in November of 1930. His theory for the continental drift was that the continents had once been joined, called Pangea, and later drifted apart to form seven continents. Alfred Wegener had to gather a lot of information to prove his theory correct.