Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift in the early 20th century. He provided several lines of evidence to support this idea, including: the fit of continents like Africa and South America, matching rock types and fossil distributions between continents, and the existence of continuous mountain chains and glacial deposits that spanned multiple continents. Wegener suggested that all the continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea, which began breaking apart during the Permian period approximately 250 million years ago.

2. Alfred Wegener (1880 – 1930)

3. Evidence
 Fit of continents
 Glaciations – tillites
 Rock types
 Fossil distributions
 Mountain chains
 Polar Wandering/Climatic bands

4. Fit of the Continents

5. South America seems to fit into Africa
 Fit is not exact – suggest
reasons why?

6. Fit of the
continents
– showing
gaps /
overlaps
that exist

7. Rock types
 Carboniferous coals and
tillites
 Permian red
sandstones
 Upper Triassic flood
basalts
Red sandstones (Permian)

8. Rock types – Precambrian
Cratons/Shield areas

9. Mountain Chains
 There is a fold mountain
belt that runs as a
continuous belt between
Africa and South
America

10. Fossil Distributions
Lystrosaurus
Cynognathus
Mesosaurus
Glossopteris

11. Mesosaurus

12. The Permian
Ice Age
Problem

13. Permian Ice
Age – tillites
(ancient
glacial
deposits)

14. Carboniferous glacial deposits showing direction of striations

15. Pangaea (“All Earth”)
Permian 250 Ma

16. Breakup of Pangaea