Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift
Alfred Lothar Wegener was the German researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist, who propounded the Continental Drift Theory in the early 20th century. His hypothesis was that the continents were initially joined together and then drifted apart over a long period of time. The fit that continents make with each other is like a jigsaw puzzle, with the continental plate of the Americas fit closely to Africa and Europe, and Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar fit next to the tip of Southern Africa.
His hypothesis raised wide criticism and was grossly rejected until the 1950s when various discoveries like earth's magnetism and provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of Plate tectonics.
Visit other related links : Boundaries of Tectonic Plates and Movement of Tectonic Plates
Alfred Lothar Wegener was the German researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist, who propounded the Continental Drift Theory in the early 20th century. His hypothesis was that the continents were initially joined together and then drifted apart over a long period of time. The fit that continents make with each other is like a jigsaw puzzle, with the continental plate of the Americas fit closely to Africa and Europe, and Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar fit next to the tip of Southern Africa.
His hypothesis raised wide criticism and was grossly rejected until the 1950s when various discoveries like earth's magnetism and provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of Plate tectonics.
Visit other related links : Boundaries of Tectonic Plates and Movement of Tectonic Plates