Describe the theory of continental drift.

1.	Describe the theory of continental drift.
Answer» In 1912 Alfred Wegener propounded the theory of continental drift to describe the present arrangement of continents and ocean basins. He postulated a massive super continent Pangaea that existed 220 million years ago. Pangaea, the hypothetical continent, from which present continents originated by the drift from Mesozoic era to the present. Wegener hypothesized that the super continent of Pangaea broke up to from : a) Laurensia – consisting of present North America, Greenland and all of Eurasia north of Indian subcontinent and b) Gondwana land – consisting of present South America, Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Malaysia, East Indies, Australia and Antarctica. These two blocks were separated by a long shallow inland sea called Tethys sea. It took millions of years for the continents to reach the present shapes and positions on the globe. Even today many of the continents are moving very slowly pushing each other.

Answer»

In 1912 Alfred Wegener propounded the theory of continental drift to describe the present arrangement of continents and ocean basins.
He postulated a massive super continent Pangaea that existed 220 million years ago.
Pangaea, the hypothetical continent, from which present continents originated by the drift from Mesozoic era to the present.

Wegener hypothesized that the super continent of Pangaea broke up to from :

a) Laurensia – consisting of present North America, Greenland and all of Eurasia north of Indian subcontinent and

b) Gondwana land – consisting of present South America, Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Malaysia, East Indies, Australia and Antarctica.

These two blocks were separated by a long shallow inland sea called Tethys sea.
It took millions of years for the continents to reach the present shapes and positions on the globe.
Even today many of the continents are moving very slowly pushing each other.

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