Scientists/ Thinkers
Alfred Wegner
Proposed the Continental Drift Theory
Core
Inter-most layer of the earth, very hot and dense
P-waves
fastest type of seismic wave, produced by earthquakes and can move through solid liquid and gas
Pangaea
Supercontinent that existed 300 million years ago
Geographic Fit
the idea that continents looked like they once fit together
Leonardo da Vinci
Early observer of fossils and Earth's changes
Mantle
Thick middle layer, between the crust and the core
S-waves
follow p-waves, move slower, and can only move through solids
Gondwana
large southern supercontinent which formed after pangaea broke apart
Fossils
fossils from different continents line up between the coasts
Francis Bacon
Noticed coastlines fit together
Crust
The outer-most layer of the earth and where we live, also the thinnest layer
Convection Current
movement of heat within a fluid or semi-solid material like the Earth's mantle
Laurasia
Northern supercontinent that formed after pangaea drifted
Mountain Ranges
mountain ranges line up between the coasts of different continents
Reason Continental Drift wasn't accepted / How they believe Continents were created
Alfred Wegner couldn't prove how the continents moved / Continents created through moving plate tectonics
Lithosphere
The rigid outerlayer of the Earth, includes the crust and upper parts of the mantle
Supercontinent
huge landmass made up of all of Earth's continents
Glaciation
evidence from ancient ice which shows the continents have moved over time