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-   -   Theory of continental drift and plate tectonics (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=402875)

  • Oct 5, 2009, 08:58 AM
    mumulov
    Theory of continental drift and plate tectonics
    Whap possible explanation can you give on the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics
  • Oct 5, 2009, 09:12 AM
    superk

    It is a theory that its concluded that before that earth just have a large mass of land called PANGEA. As time goes by, earthquake, volcanic eruption and other natural disaster made this massive land fall apart thus resulting to 7 continents: Asia, North America, South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia and Europe.

    Plate tectonics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Mar 4, 2010, 04:21 PM
    _thougthlessdork

    Continental drift is a theory by Alfred Wegener that states that the plates were all once combined in a formation referred too as PANGEA, and it says that as the world aged, the plates split apart. However, Plate tectonics is the theory that the world is made up of plates below the earths crust, and to prove this theory you can locate a map that shows the location of the north pole moving, and when matched up, the lines match up.
  • Mar 4, 2010, 07:16 PM
    FlyYakker

    While Wegener first advanced the theory early in the 20th Century, it took until the 1960s for the basic theory to be fully recognized as valid - based not only the relative shapes of the continents but other thing such as the matching of rock strata between continents, matching up of patterns of the timing of the many reversals in the earth's magnetic fields over millions of years, similarities in fossils on different continent, and likely other things I have no knowledge of. In point of fact it's pretty certain that the continents, or fragments thereof, have been moving around since early in the earth's history and there were likely several incidences of the continents massing together and breaking up in new patterns LONG before Pangea.

    Now then... That really doesn't provide an "explanation". The overall explanation of why it happens involves the massive amount of heat within the Earth that provides the energy to make things happen. But that needs a lot of explaining. While I recognize the weakness of Wikipedia in some areas, their explanation of plate tectonics seems pretty good - although it is only a summary - and it provides references. Plate tectonics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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