Ch 04 - Distribution of Oceans and Continents11th Fundamentals of Physical Geography
Early Proposals of Continental Drift
Who was the first map-maker to propose that the Americas, Europe, and Africa were once joined, and what was the historical progression of this idea?
Who was the first map-maker to propose that the Americas, Europe, and Africa were once joined, and what was the historical progression of this idea?
Abraham Ortelius (1596)
- Proposal: A Dutch map-maker who was the first to explicitly suggest the possibility of the continents being joined.
- Follow-up: Antonio Pellegrini later drew a map visually showing the three continents fitted together.
- Culmination: Alfred Wegener eventually synthesized these early ideas and formulated the comprehensive 'Continental Drift Theory' in 1912.
Prism Memory Hook
Ortelius Original Idea
Wegener's Profession and Perspective
What was Alfred Wegener's profession, and how did it heavily influence the evidence he gathered for his theory?
What was Alfred Wegener's profession, and how did it heavily influence the evidence he gathered for his theory?
German Meteorologist
- Profession: Wegener was primarily a meteorologist and climatologist.
- Influence: Because of his background, he focused on finding paleoclimatic evidence (such as glacial tillites found in currently tropical lands) to support his theory of drifting continents, rather than relying solely on geological structures.
Prism Memory Hook
Wegener Weather man
Pangaea and Panthalassa
In Wegener's Continental Drift Theory, what do the terms 'Pangaea' and 'Panthalassa' refer to, and when did the split begin?
In Wegener's Continental Drift Theory, what do the terms 'Pangaea' and 'Panthalassa' refer to, and when did the split begin?
The Super-Structure
- Pangaea: Meaning 'All Earth'; refers to the single, massive supercontinent that contained all of Earth's landmasses.
- Panthalassa: Meaning 'All Water'; refers to the single mega-ocean that completely surrounded Pangaea.
- Timeline: Wegener argued that Pangaea began to split apart approximately 200 million years ago.
Prism Memory Hook
Pan All Gaea Earth Thalassa Sea
Also in this chapter
36 more cards to study in Prism
- 4The Splitting of Pangaea
- 5Evidence: The Jig-Saw-Fit
- 6Evidence: Rocks of the Same Age
- 7Evidence: Tillite Deposits
- 8Evidence: Placer Deposits of Gold
- 9Evidence: Distribution of Fossils
- 10Wegener's Flawed Mechanics
- 11Holmes' Convection Current Theory
- 12Divisions of the Ocean Floor
- 13Continental Margins
- 14Abyssal Plains
- 15Mid-Oceanic Ridges
- 16Global Distribution of Trenches
- 17Earthquake and Volcano Distribution
- 18The Ring of Fire
- 19Paleomagnetism and Magnetic Stripes
- 20Evidence: Oceanic Sediment Thickness
- 21Evidence: Age of Oceanic vs. Continental Crust
- 22Hess's Sea Floor Spreading Theory
- 23Definition of a Tectonic Plate
- 24Thickness of the Lithosphere
- 25The Engine of Plate Movement
- 26The 7 Major Lithospheric Plates
- 27Locations of Key Minor Plates
- 28Divergent vs. Convergent Boundaries
- 29Subduction Zones
- 30Convergence Types and Associated Landforms
- 31Transform Fault Boundaries
- 32Rates of Tectonic Plate Movement
- 33The Origin of the Indian Plate
- 34Geographical Boundaries of the Indian Plate
- 35Formation of the Deccan Traps
- 36The Collision and the Himalayan Suture
- 37Apparent Polar Wandering (APW)
- 38Ridge Push vs. Slab Pull
- 39Phase-wise Upliftment of the Himalayas
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