Basics of Plate Tectonics Flashcards
1
Q
Q: What is Pangaea?
A
A: A supercontinent that existed hundreds of millions of years ago, consisting of all Earth’s landmasses joined together.
2
Q
Q: Who proposed the theory of continental drift?
A
A: Alfred Wegener in 1912.
3
Q
Q: What evidence supported Wegener’s theory?
A
A: - Similar coastlines of South America and Africa.
Identical land-dwelling fossils found on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
4
Q
Q: What was the prevailing theory before Wegener’s continental drift?
A
A: Submerged land bridges connecting continents.
5
Q
Q: What drives the movement of tectonic plates?
A
A: Convection currents in the mantle’s asthenosphere.
