Download The Continental Drift Theory

Continental Drift Theory
By Dylan
RHS SURE Student
Alfred Wegener
Alfred Wegener was a
German scientist and
meteorologist.
He was born in Berlin.
He is most notable for his
theory of continental
drift proposed in 1912,
which hypothesized
that the continents were
slowly drifting around
the Earth.
What is Continental Drift?
Continental drift is the movement of the
Earth’s continents relative to each other.
It was not until the development of the
theory of plate t in the 1960s, that a
sufficient geological explanation of that
movement was understood.
How did changes in continents
affect animals and plant life?
Evidence for continental drift has been
found in the form of plant and animal
fossils of the same age found around
different continent shores. This suggest
that these shores were once joined. The
fossils of the freshwater crocodile, found
in Brazil and South Africa, are one
example. Another is the discovery of
fossils of the aquatic reptile
Lystrosaurus from rocks of the same
age from locations in South America,
Africa, and Antarctica. There is also
living evidence — the same animals
being found on two continents. An
example of this is an earthworm found in
South America and South Africa.