3. Continental Drift

A precursor to the theory of plate tectonics was the theory of continental drift put forward in 1912 by Alfred Wegener. The theory states that the continents were once joined together into a supercontinent called Pangea which began to split up about 200 to 300 million years ago. Wegener presented six key proofs that the continents were once joined together.

  • coastline fit
  • geologic fit
  • paleoclimatology
  • paleoglaciation
  • fossil correlation
  • paleomagnetism

Study the image below carefully. Can you see how the continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle?


pangea