Download Continental Drift Notes

 Plate Tectonics
 Our Dynamic Planet
 Continental
Drift
In 1912, a German scientist (he
was an explorer, astronomer, and
meteorologist proposed that at one
time all of the continents had been
______________ to form one huge
continent
 His name was ________________
 He called this supercontinent
_______________ (it means “all
Earth”)
 And, over time (millions of years),
the continents
___________________ and ended
up in the positions we see on Earth
today

 Continental
 Continental
Drift
Drift
 Wegener could even provide 6
pieces of evidence to support
his claim
 1)
_________________________
____________________
 2) _________ of the ____
organisms are found on
_______________
 3) _____________ (ferns)
have been found under
_____________ ice! (What’s
so weird about that??)
 Continental Drift
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4) _____________ are found in
_______________ (jaguars and
ocelots) and ___________
(panthers and leopards)
How did they get on 2 different
continents – did they swim across
the Atlantic Ocean?
Also Similar ______________
found on 3 different continents:
Ostrich (Africa), Rhea (S. America),
and Emu (Australia)
 Continental Drift
 5) ________ of certain
___________ appear to begin
in one continent and end in
another
 For example, diamonds in
Brazil and S. Africa
 6)
___________ in N. America
and Europe line up
 Also, scars from
____________ appear on
opposite continents
 Continental Drift
 Continental Drift –
Matching Mountain
Ranges
 Continental Drift – Glacier
Evidence
 Continental
Drift
Wegener’s idea was ridiculed by
geologists
 This is because while Wegener
could provide evidence, he couldn’t

provide an _____________ – an
Earth __________ – that could
cause huge land masses to move
across the globe
 However, new technology finally
led to findings to support
Wegener’s theory
 Ultimately a new theory was
formed called “______________”
 What is Plate Tectonics?
 Earth’s upper mantle and
crust
are composed of solid, rigid
rocks
 This uppermost region is called
the LITHOSPHERE
 T he
lithosphere is broken up
into separate sections called
plates
 These plates (there are about
12) move over the less rigid
(more fluid) material of the
ASTHENOSPHERE (the lower
mantle)