The theory of continental drift (Wegener)

In 1912 the scientist Alfred Wegener assumed that the continents were once a single giant land mass called Pangaea ("the mother of continents"), which began to break apart, separate and drift until it settled in its present positions — more than 200 million years ago.

Wegener's evidence

• The fit of the continental margins: the east coast of South America matches the west coast of Africa.
• Paleomagnetism: tracing the direction of the magnetic needle preserved in ancient rocks.
• Paleoclimate: glacial deposits found in the south of several continents that are far apart today.
• Matching fossils and geological structure across the separated continents.

The question that remained

What force moves the continents? The answer came with the theory of plate tectonics.