Midterm Schedule

• Thursday January 28 (Periods 1 and 5)

• Friday January 29 (Periods 2 and 6)

• Monday February 1 (Periods 3 and 7)

• Tuesday February 2 (Periods 4 and 8)– 1st Exam: 7:45AM – 9:50AM– 2nd Exam: 10:00AM-12:05PM

Continental DriftWhat evidence do scientists have to support the fact that the Earth’s crust

is continuously moving?

1500s – Abraham Ortelius

• Saw that the coastlines of Africa and the Americas looked similar

• Concluded they must have once fit together

• Broke apart due to floods, earthquakes and volcanoes

1800s – Eduard Suess

• Stated that the southern continents were once a single landmass called Gondwanaland

• Northern continents called Laurasia

1900s – Alfred Wegener

• Continental Drift

– Hypothesis that Earth’s continents were joined as a single landmass that broke apart about 200 mya (million years ago) and slowly moved to their present locations

Pangaea = All Earth

Evidence from Fossils

• Similar fossils of several different plants and animals that once lived near each other found on widely separated continents

• Land animals did not swim across ocean

Evidence from Rock Formations

• Rock types found in Appalachian Mountains similar to those found in Greenland and Europe

Climatic Evidence

• Coal deposits in Antarctica indicate that the climate was much warmer in the past

• Must have been located closer to the equator before it drifted

Flaws in Continental Drift Theory

• Not able to explain what force was large enough to move such large pieces of earth over great distances

• Not able to explain how the ocean basins were not shattered, move through solids

Review Q’s

• What does Pangaea mean in Greek?• What was Ortelius’ contribution to Con.

Drift?• Who is credited with the theory of Con.

Drift?• List and describe the three main evidences

for Con Drift.• What is one major flaw in the theory of

Con. Drift?