Plate tectonics evidence
Dylan vann
Continental drift
Theorized by Wegener, he said the continents fit together like puzzle pieces suggesting that they drifted apart. He said his evidence was the matching rock fossils on continents that matched even though they were far apart. The other evidence was matching rock types on each continent that should fit together.
fossil evidence
animal fossils that are found on the coastlines of continent that drifted apart. These animals did not live in the oceans and it would have been impossible for them to swim to the other continent to live. this suggests that the continents were joined together into a supercontinent
Rock evidence
Wegener also showed that there were matching rocks on different continents.
The rocks match like puzzle pieces.
The Appalachian Mountains match the Caledonian mountains in Scotland.
Plate Tectonics
The Earth's outer shell is made up of several plates riding on the mantle.
the plates are harder than the Earth's mantle.
The crust is the outer layer a.k.a the Lithoshpere.
Seafloor Spreading
In the process of seafloor spreading magma rises and then cools.
After seafloor spreading, new crust is formed from the cooled magma.
The crust that's more recent is close to the mid ocean ridges than the crust farther away.
Earthquake and volcano mapping
Scientists realize that earthquakes and volcanoes happen in the same place.
They outline the plate boundaries, where plates interact with each other.
Very few earthquakes and volcanoes happen in the middle of the continents.
Hot spots
Places like Hawaii may help prove the existence of plates.
Is a place that is hotter and causes magma to rise.
Hot spots stay in one place while the plates move.