The continental drift theory was introduced by Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist and geophysicist, in 1912, elaborated in his 1915 book "The Origin of Continents and Oceans."
- Wegener proposed all continents were once a single supercontinent called Pangaea, surrounded by Panthalassa (global ocean)
- Pangaea began breaking apart approximately 200 million years ago
Evidence Wegener cited:
- Geometric fit of continents (especially South America and Africa)
- Matching fossil records across separated continents (e.g., Mesosaurus)
- Similar rock formations across ocean-separated landmasses
- Glacial deposits in tropical regions (paleoclimatic evidence)
The driving mechanism plate tectonics was confirmed in the 1960s through seafloor spreading research by Harry Hess.