Continantal Drift Theory

Continental Drift Theory – Geography
Study Material & Notes

Continents cover 29 percent of the surface of the earth and remainder is under oceanic
waters. Alfred Wegner was a German meteorologist who put forth the Continental Drift
Theory in 1912.
It is considered that there was a single landmass called PANGAEA- which means all earth. The
mega-ocean is called PANTHALASSA – which means all water.
The basic argument was that – About 200 million years ago, the mega-landmass PANGAEA
started splitting into two large landmasses namely, LAURASIA in the north and
GONDWANALAND in the south. These two landmasses kept splitting till they they reached
present configuration of continents and oceans.
The argument for the Continental Drift Theory gets strength from the following evidences:
1. Matching of Continents in a Jig-Saw-Fit: The shorelines of Africa and South America

towards each other show a remarkable match.
2. Rocks of same age across the oceans: It is established by radiometric dating methods
that the earliest marine deposits along the coastline of south america and Africa are of
Jurassic age, this suggest ocean did not occur prior to that. A belt of ancient rocks of
2,000 million years from Brazil coast matches with those from Western Africa.
3. Tillite: It is sedimentary rock formed out of deposits of glaciers. Gondwanaland system
of sediments has its counterparts in six different
Placer Deposits
landmasses of Southern Hemisphere. Thick tilliation at base shows prolonged glaciation.

Counterparts of this succession are found in Africa, Falkland island, Madagascar ,
Antarctica and Australia besides India. It proves paleoclimates and drifting of continents.
These landmasses have similar histories.
4. Placer deposits : Occurrences of rich placer deposits of gold in Ghana coast and the
absolute absence of source rock in the region. Also, presence of gold bearing veins in
Brazil show that obviously gold deposits of Ghana are derived from Brazilian plateau
when they were together.
5. Distribution of fossils: Lemurs occur in India, Madagascar, and Africa, this information
leads to consideration of these three landmasses being connected in the past,
hypothetically named” Lemuria”. Also Mesosaurus ( a small reptile living in brackish
water) skeleton have been found only in two localities – South Africa and Iraver
formation of Brazil, which are 4,800 km apart presently.
According to Wegener, forces responsible for this Continental drifting are:
1. Pole-fleecing force – rotation of earth.

2. Tidal force – This is due to attraction of moon and the sun that develops tides in oceanic
waters.
Post drift studies have shown some progress with following noteworthy points:
Convectional current Theory: Arthur Holmes in 1930s discussed the possibility of

convection currents operating in the mantle portion. These currents are generated due to
radioactive elements causing thermal differences in the mantle portion.
Mapping of the oceanic floor: Dating of rocks from oceanic crust reveal that they are
much younger than continental areas.
Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plate/ lithospheric plate is a massive , irregularly shaped slab of solid rock , generally
composed of continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plates move horizontally over the
aesthenosphere as rigid units. these can be called oceanic or continental based on which area is
major on the plate. Theory of plate tectonics proposes that – Earth lithosphere is divided into
seven major and some minor plates.
1. Antarctica and surrounding oceanic plate

2. North America ( western Atlantic floor separated from South America along Caribbean
islands)p plate
3. South American ( with western Atlantic floor separated from North American plate along
Caribbean islands) plate
4. Pacific plate
5. India- Australia-New Zealand plate
6. Africa with eastern Atlantic floor plate.
7. Eurasia and adjacent oceanic plate.
These plates have been constantly moving over globe throughout the history of earth. Continents
are part of a plate and what moves is the plate. This is in not sync with what Wegener said, he
said continents move.
Position of peninsular India is traced from rocks found in Nagpur area.
Minor plates:
1. Cocos plate- between central america and pacific plate.

2. Nazca plate – between south america and pacific plate.
3. Arabian plate – Mostly Saudi Arabian landmass.
4. Philippine plate – between Asiatic and Pacific plate.
5. Caroline plate – between the Philippine and Indian plate
6. Fuji plate – North-east of Australia.
Plate boundaries
There are three type of plate boundaries :
I. Divergent boundaries:
New crust is generated as plates pull away from each other.

Sites of pulling away : Spreading sites. Example, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at this the
American Plate is /are separated from the Eurasian and African Plates.
II. Convergent Boundaries:
Where crust is destroyed as one plate dived under another.

The location where sinking of plate occurs is- Subduction zone.
Three ways of convergence are: a) between oceanic and continental plate; b) between two
oceanic plates; c) between two continental plates.
II. Transform Boundaries:
Crust is neither produced, nor destroyed as the plates slide horizontally past each other.
Transform faults are the planes of separation generally perpendicular to mid-oceanic
ridges.
Since eruption is irregular, differential movement of a portion of plate away from axis of
earth.
Also, rotation of earth has its effect on separated blocks of plate portions.
Rates of plate movements determined by the strips of normal and reverse magnetic field that
parallels the mid-oceanic ridges.
Heat within earth comes from two sources –
1. Radioactive decay
2. Residual heat
The slow movement of hot, softened mantle that lies below the rigid plates is the driving force
behind the plate movement.

Continantal Drift Theory

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Continental Drift Theory – Geography

Study Material & Notes

1. Matching of Continents in a Jig-Saw-Fit: The shorelines of Africa and South America

landmasses of Southern Hemisphere. Thick tilliation at base shows prolonged glaciation.

According to Wegener, forces responsible for this Continental drifting are:

1. Pole-fleecing force – rotation of earth.

Convectional current Theory: Arthur Holmes in 1930s discussed the possibility of

1. Antarctica and surrounding oceanic plate

Position of peninsular India is traced from rocks found in Nagpur area.

1. Cocos plate- between central america and pacific plate.

There are three type of plate boundaries :

New crust is generated as plates pull away from each other.

II. Convergent Boundaries:

Where crust is destroyed as one plate dived under another.

II. Transform Boundaries:

Heat within earth comes from two sources –

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