Daniel 9

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One of the main, and first reasons why the average person may think that the earth was once a super continent comprised of all of ours today into one. The reason we may think that is that continents look somewhat like jigsaw puzzles and giving us a picture that looks like they can come together. For example African and South America look like they can fit into each other etc… When Alfred Wegener talked about “continental drift” he meant that the continents were all once a super continent, and over a 300 million time period they drifted far apart. He had 4 pieces of evidence supporting his theory of continental drift: 1. South America and Africa look like they can fit into each other, 2. He found the same fossils on the two continents, 3. There are similar mountains in their features on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the Easter United States and Canada, and the Caledonian mountains in the northern British Isles. These mountains were formed over 300 millions ago due to the crashing of tectonic plates. 4. There was evidence there was ice sheets 250 millions years ago during the ice age in Indian, Australia, and South Africa showing evidence that these regions were once closer to the southern pole. Most scientists didn’t believe Wegener because he was incapable of proving what force is strong enough to cause these Plates to move causing the “Continental Drift” theory to occur. In the 1960’s and later on they found the evidence needed and further proved the theory. Plate Tectonics is a law which states that the Earth is covered by a very thin layer of solid rock which are divided into 20 plates of which float upon a think layer called the mantle which is comprised of molten rock which is thick like molasses and causing volcanoes to erupt due to pressure in the middle of a plate or the separation of a plate from another. Earthquakes also occur due to plates colliding, and these events cause a new crust to be formed and older crusts to be eroded away. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur due to the separation or collision of two plates, which is located at the borders of the plates. The mountains around Canada were formed due to the collision of Plate Tectonics, also the great plains of Canada were once covered by ice or water and then rose up causing all the dead material from the bottom of the ocean to enrich the soil to be great for harvesting. A. One example of a ridge in the earth’s plates is the Pacific plate and the North American plate. An example of a trench is the African plate with the South American Plate and North American Plate. B. Subduction is when two Tectonic Plate meet and go underneath another, usually an Oceanic Plate that goes under a Continental Plate. It is measured by Centimeters per year. Subduction’s outcome is usually that a ridge occurs rather than a trench. May 23rd 1914, there was a massive Earthquake along the San Andreas region which has caused the death of 43 people. Property damage’s were severe and the town of Maybell was completely destroyed. Alfred Wegener, a German scientist which studies geology, and geography claims that this was a reaction of Tectonic Plates which either overlap, or separate from each other causing Earthquakes and Volcanoes to occur. He also claims that the continents we know of today were all once a single Super Continent and they slowly drifted apart, and he has near sufficient evidence to prove his theory except for the fact of how the plates move causing them to be so far apart today.

By: Daniel SJ Park