Which of these pieces of evidence did Alfred Wegener cite to support his hypothesis of continental drift?(1 point)
Responses
Similar fossils have been found at the bottom of the ocean and on land.
Similar fossils have been found at the bottom of the ocean and on land.
Contraction of the Earth caused folded mountains to form.
Contraction of the Earth caused folded mountains to form.
New oceanic crust formed between the northern and southern continents, pushing them apart.
New oceanic crust formed between the northern and southern continents, pushing them apart.
The continents fit together like a puzzle.
Alfred Wegener, the meteorologist and geophysicist who first proposed the theory of continental drift, cited several lines of evidence to support his hypothesis that continents had once been joined together and had since drifted apart. Among those pieces of evidence, Wegener included:
1. The fit of the continents: Wegener observed that the coastlines of continents such as South America and Africa seem to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, suggesting that they were once joined.
2. Similar fossils on different continents: Wegener pointed out that identical fossil species were found on continents that are now widely separated by oceans. For example, fossils of the ancient reptile Mesosaurus were found in both South America and Africa.
3. Similar rock formations and mountain ranges: Wegener noticed that rock formations and mountain ranges on different continents appear to align when the continents are brought together, suggesting a shared geological history.
4. Paleoclimatic evidence: Wegener used evidence such as the presence of glacial deposits in currently warm regions like India and South America, as well as coal beds (indicative of tropical climates) found in colder regions, to argue that the continents had moved to different latitudes.
However, the following statements were not part of Wegener's evidence:
- Similar fossils have been found at the bottom of the ocean and on land. (This was not a key point of his evidence, as Wegener focused more on similarities between continental fossils.)
- Contraction of the Earth caused folded mountains to form. (This idea is related to a different geological theory and is not part of continental drift.)
- New oceanic crust formed between the northern and southern continents, pushing them apart. (The mechanism of seafloor spreading and the formation of new oceanic crust was not understood or proposed until later, with the development of plate tectonics theory in the mid-20th century.)
Therefore, the correct evidence that Wegener cited to support his hypothesis of continental drift is:
The continents fit together like a puzzle.