Continental Drift
The historical hypothesis proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912 stating that Earth's continents were once joined in a single supercontinent (Pangea) before drifting apart.
Governing formula
Historical Wegener Hypothesis (Pangea Supercontinent)
SI unit
Geologic Time Scale (Millions of Years)
In depth
Supported by the matching jigsaw puzzle shapes of South America and Africa, identical fossil distributions, and matching rock strata across oceans. Mechanistically explained in the 1960s by seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.
Examples in the real world
Identical fossil remains of the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus found in both southern Africa and South America.