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Understanding Continental Drift Theory and Alfred Wegener

Learn about Alfred Wegener, the German scientist who proposed the idea of continental drift, named Pangaea, and faced rejection due to lack of evidence. Discover the evidence supporting his theory, including landforms, fossils, and climate changes. Understand why scientists initially rejected his idea and how it was eventually accepted in the 1960s.

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Understanding Continental Drift Theory and Alfred Wegener

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  1. Continental Drift

  2. Who was Alfred Wagener? • German scientist that proposed that the continents were all once connected. • He named the supercontinent , Pangaea. • His idea said that the continents are slowly moving.

  3. Why did scientists not accept Wagener’s idea? • He could not provide enough evidence. • He was not a geologist. • He died trying to prove his idea.

  4. Evidence • Landforms • Fossils • Climate

  5. Landforms • South American and African mountain ranges line up and match. • Coal fields in Europe and North America also match.

  6. Fossils • A fossil is any trace of an ancient organism that has preserved in rock. • Glossopteris, a fernlike plant that flourished 250 million years ago. These were found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica.

  7. Climate • Areas of tropical regions now have shown evidence of glaciation. • Areas that are now polar regions, show evidence of tropical climates.

  8. Rejection • Wegener did not provide enough evidence to satisfy scientists about Pangaea. • In the 1960’s , enough evidence was finally collected to convince scientists.

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