Overview

The theory of continental drift holds that the great landmasses are slowly moving, and have done so continually over the long span of geologic time. According to the theory, a single landmass called Pangaea split up about 200 million years ago, and the resulting continents eventually drifted to their present locations. The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) introduced the theory of continental drift in 1912.

Background

Looking at a world map, it is easy to see that the edges of Europe and North America, Africa and South America, would fit together nicely, almost like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. This was noticed almost as soon as Europeans began traveling to the Americas; Francis Bacon wrote of it in 1620. But the early mapmakers had no real understanding of how the Earth formed and changed over time...