In the early part of the 20th century, scientists began to put together evidence that the continents could move around on Earth’s surface. The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.

Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. Set forth in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also explained why look-alike animal and plant fossils, and similar rock formations, are found on different continents.

Answer. Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart. Wegener suggested that these creatures were alive in warm climate zones and that the fossils and coal later had drifted to new locations on the continents.

The modern plate tectonics theory, which has become widely accepted since the 1960s, states that the earth’s outer layer, or lithosphere, is broken into several large slabs called plates. These plates, which hold the continents and oceans, are slowly but constantly moving around the planet.

He used fossil evidence, such as that of tropical plants found on the Arctic island of Spitzbergen. He found large-scale geographic features that matched, like the Appalachian Mountains in the United States and the Scottish Highlands, as well as rock strata in South Africa that matched those in Brazil.

gravity forces

The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.

The main driving force of plate tectonics is gravity. If a plate with oceanic lithosphere meets another plate, the dense oceanic lithosphere dives beneath the other plate and sinks into the mantle. However, convection also drives plate tectonics. …

Pacific plate

Tectonic plates have a large range of sizes and thicknesses. The Pacific Plate is among the largest, while the disappearing Juan De Fuca Plate is one of the smallest.

One of the smallest of Earth’s tectonic plates, the Juan de Fuca Plate is a remnant part of the once-vast Farallon Plate, which is now largely subducted underneath the North American Plate….

San Andreas Fault

The continents are embedded in the plates. Many continents occur in the middles of plates, not at their boundaries or edges. Plates also underlie the Earth’s oceans. A single plate often includes both continental and oceanic regions.

What is the relationship between the continent and earth’s plates? The continent is part of a plate. The continent is next to but is not part of a plate. The continent is on top of a layer of water that is above a plate.