CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

WHAT IS CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY?

• It was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912.
• It deals with the distribution of the oceans and continents.
  • All the continents were Super continental mass – Pangaea.
  • A Mega Ocean surrounded this supercontinent – Panthalassa.

WHAT WERE ITS ARGUMENTS?

• 2 million years ago Pangaea split into 2 big continent masses
  • Gondwanaland
  • Laurasia
• Later, it continued to break into several other smaller continents that exist today.

WHAT WERE THE FORCES FOR DRIFTING OF CONTINENTS?

• The drifting of the continents was instigated by
  • Tidal force
  • Pole-Fleeing force

 WHAT ARE ITS SUPPORTING EVIDENCES?

WHAT WERE ITS CRITICISM?

• No reason why the drift began only in Mesozoic era.
• Forces for drifting are too weak to be able to move continents.
• Proofs based on general assumptions.