Sep 30, 2014 · Explore key moments in Earth’s transformative history as continents drift and climate fluctuates over 4.6 billion years

Watch as the continents split apart and move to their present...

Mar 1, 2025 · Continental drift, large-scale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it.

Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist Alfred Wegener.

Continental drift is a highly supported scientific theory, originating in the early 20th century, that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time. [1]

The theory of continental drift suggests that the continents were once connected in a single supercontinent called Pangaea, which began to break apart around 200 million years ago. Over millions of years, the continents moved away from each other, creating the familiar shapes of the continents that we see today.

Mar 22, 2012 · EarthViewer dynamically shows how continents grow and shift as students scroll through billions of years. Additional layers let students explore changes in atmospheric …

Continental drift is the movement of continents on Earth. It’s caused by convection currents that are generated by temperature differences between the surface and the deep ocean. This process helps to make new land, as well as move landmass around on the planet’s surface.

What is the theory of continental drift? How do human activities affect Earth's climate? A time-lapse representation of Earth changing through geologic time, from the late Proterozoic Eon (c. 650 million years ago) to the projected period of Pangea Proxima (c. 250 million years from now).

*Proposed that convection currents are the force behind continental drift. *A convection current is the flow of material in the mantle of the Earth due to unequal heating. *Theory was not accepted at the time but was later supported. *The Navy used sonar to map the ocean floor.