Over millions of years, the continents drift into new configurations. Convection in the molten rock of Earth’s mantle drives the movement of the plates. … This suggests that in the distant past, the configuration of continents was different than it is today, a theory Wegener called “continental drift.”
How are plate tectonics and continental drift similar?
Plate tectonics is Wegener theory of continental drift reworked. The force needed to move the continents is proposed to be convection currents in the mantle. … The continents are seen as part of large plates of crust that are moved by the convection currents in the mantle.
Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s land masses are in constant motion. The realization that Earth’s land masses move was first proposed by
Continental drift believes that the continents moved because the magnetism of the sea floor. Plate tectonics believes that the lithosphere & the asthenosphere of the continents caused them to move.
What are the 4 evidence of continental drift?
They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.
What are the 4 types of plate tectonics?
- Divergent: extensional; the plates move apart. Spreading ridges, basin-range.
- Convergent: compressional; plates move toward each other. Includes: Subduction zones and mountain building.
- Transform: shearing; plates slide past each other. Strike-slip motion.
What is the continental drift theory quizlet?
What is the theory of continental drift? Hypothesis that states that continents once formed a single land mass and broke apart and drifted to their current location.
What causes the continental drift quizlet?
a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid. The earth’s crust and upper mantle are made of huge plates slowly drifting because of convection currents in the mantle. The mid ocean ridge is a crack in the earth’s crust where molten rock rises and spreads new sea floor.
What is the theory of the continental drift?
What are 3 pieces of evidence for Pangea?
What does Pangaea mean in Greek?
Pangea was surrounded by a global ocean called Panthalassa, and it was fully assembled by the Early Permian Epoch (some 299 million to 273 million years ago). … Its name is derived from the Greek pangaia, meaning “all the Earth.”
How do we know Pangea existed?
How did scientists “discover” Pangea and other
What are the two main types of tectonic plates?
Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around 100 km (62 mi) thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called sima from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from silicon and aluminium).
What are the 2 tectonic plates called?
There are two main types of tectonic plates: oceanic and continental.
What causes the tectonic plates to move?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.
Who wrote the continental drift theory?
If this sounds shocking today, you should put yourself in the shoes of geologists back in 1912, who were much more troubled when a 32-year-old German meteorologist,
