Download Plate tectonic ppt with pangea

Identify the types of evidence Alfred
Wegener used to support the theory of
continental drift.
Continental Drift: the hypothesis, stated by
Alfred Wegener, that states the continents
once formed a single land mass, broke up,
and drifted to their present location.
Continental Drift
Evidence from Landforms
Puzzle-like fit & mountain ranges
of Africa & South America line up
Coal Deposits
European coal fields match up
with similar coal fields in North
America
Evidence from Fossils
• Mesosaurus & Lystrosaurus- found in
places now separated by oceans
• Glossopteris- fernlike plant found in rocks
in Africa, S. America, Australia, India &
Antarctica
Evidence from Climate
• Island of Spitsbergen
– Lies in Arctic Ocean; harsh, polar climate
– Fossils of tropical plants found here
• Glaciers
– Evidence of past continental glaciers found in
rocks of South Africa
Rodinia
Mid Ocean Ridges & Seafloor
Spreading
• Mid-Ocean Ridges are places where seafloor
spreading takes place.
• These are underwater mountain chains in the
Earth’s ocean basins.
• Seafloor Spreading is the process by which
new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises
towards the surface and solidifies.