While doing his research, Alfred Wegener developed four key pieces of evidence to support the theory of continental drift. In the space below, list each piece of evidence.
Question
While doing his research, Alfred Wegener developed four key pieces of evidence to support the theory of continental drift. In the space below, list each piece of evidence.
Solution
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Fit of the Continents: Wegener noticed that the continents seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa, for example, appear to align almost perfectly.
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Fossil Evidence: Wegener found identical fossils of the same species of plants and animals on continents that are now thousands of kilometers apart. This suggested that these continents were once joined together.
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Rock Formations and Mountain Ranges: Wegener discovered that rock formations and mountain ranges of the same age and structure could be found on continents that are now far apart. This indicated that these continents were once connected.
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Climate Evidence: Wegener found evidence of past climates in places where they shouldn't exist. For example, he found evidence of glaciers in South Africa and coal deposits (which form in tropical climates) in Antarctica. This suggested that these continents were once located in different parts of the globe.
Similar Questions
How did fossil evidence help support Wegener's theory of continental drift?
Although he did not present a mechanism, what were the key points of Alfred Wegener’s proposal for the concept of continental drift?
Which of the following lines of evidence supported Wegener's continental drift hypothesis?Group of answer choicesFit of continents, similar fossils, matched-up �rocks.Fit of continents, ancient ice sheets, evolution of fish.Fit of continents, matched-up rocks, east–west polarity.Fit of continents, similar ocean basins, ancient ice sheets.
List some of the evidence used by Wegener to support his idea of moving continents.2. What was the primary technical weakness with Wegener’s continental drift theory?3. How were mountains thought to be formed (a) by contractionists and (b) by permanentists?4. How were the trans-Atlantic paleontological matchups explained in the late 19th century?5. In the context of isostasy, what would prevent an area of continental crust from becoming part of anocean?6. How did we learn about the topography of the sea floor in the early part of the 20th century?7. How does the temperature profile of the crust and the mantle indicate that part of the mantle must beconvecting?8. What evidence from paleomagnetic studies provided support for continental drift?9. Which parts of the oceans are the deepest?10. Why is there less sediment in the ocean ridge areas than in other parts of the sea floor?11. How were the oceanic heat-flow data related to mantle convection?12. Describe the spatial and depth distribution of earthquakes at ocean ridges and ocean trenches.13. In the model for ocean basins developed by Harold Hess, what took place at oceanic ridges and whattook place at oceanic trenches?14. What aspect of plate tectonics was not included in the Hess theory?15. The image shows the pattern of sea-floor magnetic anomalies in the area of a spreading ridge. Draw inthe likely location of the ridge.
Discuss the evidence supporting the continental drift theory and how it has shaped our understanding of the Earth's history.
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