What Will Ut Be Called When the Coninents Form Toghether Again

The theory of continental drift is about associated with the scientist Alfred Wegener. In the early 20th century, Wegener published a paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were "drifting" across the Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other. He called this movement continental migrate.

Pangaea

Wegener was convinced that all of World's continents were once part of an enormous, single landmass called Pangaea.

Wegener, trained as an astronomer, used biology, botany, and geology describe Pangaea and continental migrate. For instance, fossils of the aboriginal reptile mesosaurus are simply found in southern Africa and South America. Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile only ane meter (iii.3 feet) long, could not have swum the Atlantic Ocean. The presence of mesosaurus suggests a single habitat with many lakes and rivers.

Wegener also studied plant fossils from the frigid Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. These plants were not the hardy specimens adapted to survive in the Arctic climate. These fossils were of tropical plants, which are adjusted to a much warmer, more than humid environs. The presence of these fossils suggests Svalbard one time had a tropical climate.

Finally, Wegener studied the stratigraphy of different rocks and mountain ranges. The east coast of South America and the westward declension of Africa seem to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and Wegener discovered their rock layers "fit" but as conspicuously. S America and Africa were non the but continents with similar geology. Wegener discovered that the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern The states, for instance, were geologically related to the Caledonian Mountains of Scotland.

Pangaea existed about 240 1000000 years ago. By about 200 million years ago, this supercontinent began breaking upwards. Over millions of years, Pangaea separated into pieces that moved abroad from i another. These pieces slowly causeless their positions as the continent we recognize today.

Today, scientists remember that several supercontinents like Pangaea have formed and broken upwardly over the form of the Earth'southward lifespan. These include Pannotia, which formed virtually 600 million years agone, and Rodinia, which existed more than a billion years ago.

Tectonic Activeness

Scientists did not have Wegener's theory of continental migrate. One of the elements lacking in the theory was the mechanism for how it works—why did the continents drift and what patterns did they follow? Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth acquired the continents to shift towards and apart from each other. (It doesn't.)

Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are ever moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics.

The continents are still moving today. Some of the near dynamic sites of tectonic activity are seafloor spreading zones and giant rift valleys.

In the process of seafloor spreading, molten stone rises from within the Earth and adds new seafloor (oceanic crust) to the edges of the old. Seafloor spreading is most dynamic along behemothic underwater mountain ranges known as mid-ocean ridges. Equally the seafloor grows wider, the continents on opposite sides of the ridge move away from each other. The Northward American and Eurasian tectonic plates, for example, are separated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ii continents are moving abroad from each other at the charge per unit of most 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) per twelvemonth.

Rift valleys are sites where a continental landmass is ripping itself apart. Africa, for case, will somewhen divide along the Groovy Rift Valley system. What is now a single continent volition emerge as two—one on the African plate and the other on the smaller Somali plate. The new Somali continent volition be generally oceanic, with the Horn of Africa and Madagascar its largest landmasses.

The processes of seafloor spreading, rift valley formation, and subduction (where heavier tectonic plates sink beneath lighter ones) were non well-established until the 1960s. These processes were the master geologic forces behind what Wegener recognized as continental drift.

The way some continents fit together like puzzle pieces inspired the theory of continental drift.

Map by USGS

Colliding Skyward
The standoff of the Indian subcontinent and Asian continent created the Himalayan mount range, home to the world'due south highest mountain peaks, including 30 that exceed 7300 meters (24,000 feet). Because continental drift is all the same pushing India into Asia, the Himalayas are still growing.

Urkontinent

Alfred Wegener'south original proper name for his proposed, ancient continent was "Urkontinent"—ur meaning "first or original," and kontinent pregnant "continent" in Wegener's native language, German language. A more popular name for this huge ancient landmass is Pangaea, which means "all lands" in Greek.

adapt

Verb

to adjust to new surroundings or a new situation.

Alfred Wegener

Noun

(1880-1930) High german meteorologist and geologist.

ancient

Adjective

very former.

Noun

a group of closely scattered islands in a large torso of water.

Noun

region at World's extreme north, encompassed by the Chill Circle.

astronomer

Noun

person who studies space and the universe beyond World's atmosphere.

biology

Substantive

written report of living things.

phytology

Substantive

report of plants.

climate

Noun

all atmospheric condition conditions for a given location over a period of fourth dimension.

Noun

edge of state along the sea or other big trunk of water.

Noun

ane of the 7 main land masses on World.

Noun

the motility of continents resulting from the motion of tectonic plates.

dynamic

Describing word

always changing or in motility.

enormous

Adjective

very large.

Noun

remnant, impression, or trace of an ancient organism.

freshwater

Describing word

having to do with a habitat or ecosystem of a lake, river, or jump.

frigid

Describing word

very cold.

geologist

Substantive

person who studies the physical formations of the Earth.

geology

Noun

study of the physical history of the Earth, its composition, its structure, and the processes that form and change information technology.

Great Rift Valley arrangement

Noun

series of faults and other sites of tectonic activity stretching from southwestern Asia to the Horn of Africa.

Noun

environment where an organism lives throughout the yr or for shorter periods of time.

hardy

Adjective

strong or able to withstand severe weather.

humid

Adjective

air containing a large amount of water vapor.

jigsaw puzzle

Noun

interlocking pieces that, when correctly put together, display a movie or pattern.

landmass

Noun

large area of country.

massive

Adjective

very large or heavy.

mechanism

Noun

process or assembly that performs a function.

mesosaurus

Noun

freshwater reptile that lived during the early Permian period, about 300 million years ago.

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Substantive

underwater mountain range that runs from Iceland to Antarctica.

mid-bounding main ridge

Noun

underwater mountain range.

molten

Adjective

solid material turned to liquid past heat.

mount range

Substantive

series or concatenation of mountains that are close together.

oceanic crust

Noun

sparse layer of the Globe that sits beneath ocean basins.

Pangaea

Noun

supercontinent of all the Globe's landmass that existed about 250 million years ago.

Substantive

movement and interaction of the Earth's plates.

reptile

Substantive

beast that breathes air and usually has scales.

Substantive

low in the basis caused by the Earth's chaff spreading apart.

Substantive

object'due south complete turn around its ain axis.

Substantive

rift in underwater mountain range where new oceanic crust is formed.

slab

Noun

flat, thick slice of material such as earth or rock.

specimen

Substantive

individual organism that is a typical instance of its nomenclature.

stratigraphy

Noun

study of rock layers and layering.

subduction

Noun

procedure of i tectonic plate melting, sliding, or falling beneath another.

supercontinent

Noun

ancient, giant landmass that separate apart to form all the continents we know today.

tectonic plate

Noun

massive slab of solid rock made upwards of World'south lithosphere (chaff and upper mantle). Besides called lithospheric plate.

tropical

Adjective

existing in the tropics, the latitudes betwixt the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south.

tropical climate

Substantive

climate grouping that experiences hot, moisture summers.

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Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/continental-drift/

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