MODULE 5

EVIDENCES OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT

• Alfred Wegener suggested that the continents were all originally part of a huge landmass called Pangaea that
was surrounded by a single ocean, Panthalassa. Pangaea existed about 300 million to 200 million years ago and
then the continents slowly drifted to their present locations.
• He gathered evidences to support his continental drift theory. He studied the world map to see how each
continent fits a single shape, mapped the distribution of plant and animal fossils in different continents, rock
features, and ancient climates. Let us dig dipper on these evidences.
Evidence of Geographical “Fit”
- For many scientists that time, it is difficult to accept that the continents that are separated by thousands of
miles were once connected pieces of Pangaea. One fascinating and most visible evidence that these continents
were once one is their shape. If you will examine the continents of South America and Africa in your activity,
you will be surprised that their edges match one another – South America and Africa fit together. Eurasia and
North America match one another, and Antarctica, Australia and Southern Asia completes the puzzle. Just like
a jigsaw puzzle, these seven continents fit with each other to form Pangaea.
Evidence from Fossils
- Wegener investigated the distant past and tried to gather evidences from fossils to support his theory. Fossils
are preserved remains or traces of organisms from the past. Wegener found out that fossilized leaves of an
extinct plant Glossopteris (shown in Figure B) were in 250 million years old rocks. These fossils were in
different continents such as Southern Africa, Australia, India, and
- Antarctica, which are now separated from each other by oceans. It is not possible for the seeds of this plant to
travel a long journey by wind or survive a rough ride through the ocean waves. Another discovery that supports
Wegener’s theory was the identification of freshwater reptile Mesosaurus (found across South Africa and
southern South America) and land reptile Lystrosaurus (found in a band across current India, Antarctica, and
central Africa). These reptiles lived about 200 million years ago. It was a big wonder why their bones were
found in Africa and South America, and the teeth in Antarctica when it is impossible for these reptiles to swim
over the huge oceans and move from one mainland to another.
Evidence from Rocks
- From the previous evidences, you have learned that the African and South American continental edge fits
together. Wegener found out that distinct rock types were found in both continents. Rock formations in Africa
line up with that in South America as if it was a long mountain range. Fossils found in rocks provide evidence
that continents drifted apart from each other. For example, deformed rocks of Cape Fold of South Africa are
similar to rocks found in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Evidence from Glacial Deposits
- Aside from rocks Wegener plotted 250 million-year-old glacial deposits on a map showing the modern
distribution of continents. He found out that glacial deposits are found in Antarctica, Africa, South America,
India, and Australia. If the continents have not moved, then this would suggest an ice sheet that extended from
the South Pole to the equator at this time. Glacial striations or scratches on the bedrock showed that the
movement of the rocks is outwards from a central point in Southern Africa.
MAGNETIC STRIPPING & MAGNETIC REVERSALS
• Magnetism plays a significant role in supporting the concept of seafloor spreading. In the early 20th century,
the process of seafloor spreading is visualized by the scientists with the help of magnetism.
• Magnetic reversals happened over and over in the past. The existence of magnetic reversals can be explained
through the magnetic patterns in rocks found on the ocean floor. When magma hardens, iron bearing minerals
crystallize. The crystallized minerals behave like tiny compasses and align with the Earth’s magnetic field. The
magnetic minerals in magma will line up either pointing north or pointing south, depending on the magnetic
field at the time. But once the magma solidifies, the minerals are locked into place and as such can record the
reversals of Earth's magnetic field. The result of this are stripes of magnetic minerals that parallel the mid-
ocean ridges.
• When a magnetic reversal happens, there is also a shift in the polarity of the rocks. This allowed scientists to
visualize the magnetic stripes in the ocean floor, and to construct a magnetic polarity time scale.
 • Scientists suggested that the magnetism of the ocean floor around mid- ocean ridges are divided into matching
“stripes” on either side of the ridge. When magma cools, specific magnetism of basalt rock is determined by
the Earth’s magnetic field. Scientists agree that the same process formed the completely symmetrical stripes on
both sides of a mid-ocean ridge. The orderly pattern of stripes are separated by the continuous process of
seafloor spreading.
• When scientists measured the age of seafloor rocks, they found that younger rocks are closer to the mid-ocean
ridges, and older rocks are found closer to trenches. These two pieces of evidence support the idea that the
seafloor spreading is valid by showing that the seafloor is not all the same age and is constantly being created at
mid ocean ridges and destroyed in subduction zones.
Which type of evidence was NOT used by Alfred Wegener to support his continental drift theory?
- human remains
The following continents contain glacial deposits which suggest that they were once connected EXCEPT:
- Europe
According to Alfred Wegener, two continents seemed perfectly fit when placed near each other. Which continent fits
with South America?
- Africa
Any trace of preserved remains of an organism is called a
- Fossil
How does fossil evidence support Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?
- Similar fossils of giant, land-dwelling dinosaurs are found on continents separated by oceans.
All the statements support Wegener’s theory of continental drift EXCEPT
- The variety of samples of rocks from South America and Africa were different from each other.
Evidence that supports Wegener’s theory of continental drift is that ____.
- fossils of the same organism have been found on different continent
It is an event in which the Earth’s magnetic field changes direction
- Magnetic reversal
Which is TRUE about the polarity of rocks that solidified from mid-ocean ridges?
- Solidified rocks align its magnetic field with the Earth’s magnetic field.
How magnetic stripping on the seafloor does provide evidence of seafloor spreading?
- Rocks found in different areas of the oceanic ridge show different polarity at different times.
The magnets point north when Earth's magnetic field has
- Magnetic reversal
Why were magnetic patterns found on the ocean floor puzzling?
- They showed alternating bands of normal and reversed polarity.
Which one among the continental drift pieces of evidence mainly proves that the Cape Mountains of South America and
Africa line up perfectly before?
- The evidence from the rock layers in different continents exactly matched.
What did Harry Hammond Hess realize in the 1950s when his team continued exploring the ocean floor and discovered
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
- He realized that the Earth's crust had been moving away on each side of oceanic ridges, down the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
What evidences do scientists use to support the Continental Drift Theory?
- rocks, fossils, ice