Essay on Continental Drift for Students & Children’s in English

Essay on Continental Drift: If you’re taking a glance at a map of the planet nowadays, you may see this location of broken landmasses that represent the planet. However, would you suspect if somebody told you that these broken landmasses were once connected to every different joined large supercontinent? Well, this claim was created within the ’90s by Alfred the Great geophysicist, a German polar man of science, specialized and geologist who died in 1930.

What is a Continental Drift?

Wegener’s theory of Essay on Continental Drift states that the prevailing continents of the planet were once passed along forming an excellent solid ground. Over time, the solid ground bust and drifted away and remains drifting to the present day. In his proposal, he expressed that the super content, which he named Pangea, which means ‘’all earth” once existed. The supercontinent was enclosed by water bodies, in the main oceans, and seas.

As a result of the movement of the supercontinent, Pangea split into 2 super landmasses specifically Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Laurasia makes up the northern continents of nowadays. The northern continent consists of Europe, North America, and Asia. Gondwanaland makes up the southern continents of nowadays. The southern continent consists of South America, Antarctica, Australia, India, and Africa. whereas creating this claim, he had a group of proof to support it.

Causes of Continental Drift:

The causes of the essay on continental drift are absolutely explained by the plate tectonic theory. The earth’s outer shell consists of plates that move to a small degree bit per annum. Heat returning from within of the planet triggers this movement to occur through convection currents inside the mantle. Over the course of several years agone, this gradual movement caused the once combined supercontinent to separate into seven continents you witness within the present day.

Almost all plate movements happen in boundaries that lie between completely different plates. Once plates alien from one another, there’s the formation of recent crust at divergent boundaries. On the opposite hand, movement destroys crust throughout the interaction of the plates. Destruction happens once one plate moves below the opposite at convergent boundaries. However, the crust isn’t destroyed once plates move past each other horizontally at rework boundaries.

Essay on continental drift has wedged the universe in some ways. it’s affected the worldwide climate, the world’s geographical positions and also the evolution of animals. Essay on continental drift conjointly comes together with grave effects like Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis. Through the speculation of continental drift, humans are ready to make out however the earth’s crust moves and also the causes of volcanoes, earthquakes, oceanic trenches, a formation of mountain ranges and alternative geologic occurrences.

Continental Drift Theory:

ROCK CLUES:
Wegener specifically used rock composition and mountain ranges to produce proof of continental drift. He provided proof that mountain ranges occurring on opposite continents matched up as good as once brought along. This excellent positioning of mountain ranges indicated that the continents were once along. as an example, if you are taking the mountain ranges of North America and Europe, they align absolutely well. Mountains are generally shaped once 2 opposite land masses run into one another triggering the rock found at the purpose of the collision to fold or bulge upwards.

In terms of rock composition, at locations wherever continents match up, the types of rocks on the other sides of the continents were of a similar kind. Since these match up points consisted of a similar reasonably rock any proves that the continents were once along before breaking away and drifting.

Despite Wegener’s effort to do to prove his theory of continental drift, it absolutely was ne’er accepted. Once he was tasked with proving, however, these continents enraptured to totally different places, he couldn’t. However, this theory of geological phenomenon came to be accepted within the ’90s after his death. He died of an alleged heart attacked once on an expedition to Greenland.

FITTING OF CONTINENTS: Wegener conjointly provided proof of continental drift by staring at the physical form of continental coastlines. The form of continental coastlines visibly matched up like items of the puzzle. For instance, the continents of South America and Africa match absolutely once brought along. This means that the continents were once fastened along and drifted apart over time.

CLIMATE INFORMATION:
Apart from fossil proof, Wegener used environmental condition clues to substantiate his facts. One in each of the clues he used was the ice mass. Wegener, in his expedition, discovered ice mass grooves altogether the continents. Ice mass grooves are the open trenches or landmarks engraved out by the movement of ice mass.

He discovered ice mass groves in continents that weren’t cold enough to support snow formation within the current day. Once he brought these continents along, the ice mass grooves absolutely matched up. This recommended that these continents were once along and drifted away over time.

FOSSIL ANIMALS AND PLANTS CLUE:
The Fossil Animals and Plants Clue which were discovered on the continents also includes Glossopteris, Cygnognathus, Lystosaurus, and Mesosaurus which are given below in detailed:

GLOSSOPTERIS:
Glossopteris was Fossil from a fern. It’s a fern that was discovered in Africa, South America, Antarctica, India, and Australia. Consistent with the trendy day map, these continents are so much apart. It’s, therefore, not possible that the seeds of the pteridophyte were blown by the wind or floated across the ocean to own that type of population on these five continents. The actual fact that the seeds would are unable to be blown or floated to those continents proves that these continents were once along.

ALSO READ: ESSAY ON TEMPERATE GRASSLAND BIOME

CYGNOGNATHUS AND LYSTOSAURUS:
Lystrosaurus is Fossil from land reptiles. Cygnognathus is a Fossil from another species of reptilian. If you look into the map before the continents drifted away, you discover that Cygnognathus was located in South America and Africa.

Lystrosaurus, on the opposite hand, was settled in Africa, India, and the Antarctic continent. in line with the Lystrosaurus and Cygnognathus’ body anatomy, they’re not designed for swimming. Now, observing this map when drifting of the continents, Cygnognathus is located in Africa and South America.

So, technically, the creature wouldn’t have travelled through the ocean to urge the following continent. The distribution of those reptiles in several continents proves that these separate land Plenties were once along before rending. On high of that, Lystrosaurus is located in the Antarctic continent, India, and the continent in line with the latest map.

Again, for this creature to swim from Africa to the Antarctic continent would are not possible. So, the very fact that these organisms couldn’t swim through the large water bodies helps to substantiate the very fact that the continents were once along to permit the distribution of those organisms in varied continents wherever their fossils were found on.

MESOSAURUS:
Mesosaurus are fossils originating from aquatic fresh reptiles. These reptiles lived in fresh bodies like lakes and rivers. If you’re taking a glance at the map before the continents drifted away, you discover that Mesosaurus is found within the southern elements of the continent and North America. If you investigate the present map once the continents drifted away, you discover that North America and the continent are distant from one another separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

So, his theory is established by the actual fact that the freshwater reptiles couldn’t swim across the ocean waters, hence, their distribution on each continent. the invention of fossils on completely different continents indicated that the continents were once along before they drifted away.