–By @7th Grade
Dear Colleagues,
I have been working on a new theory. It is called: Continental Drift. There is evidence in all of the continents supporting my idea.
First of all, I have evidence from landforms. Mountains on the west coast of Africa are very similar to the mountains on the east coast of South America. This suggests that the two continents were once connected together. Now I know that there is a different idea spreading around the world, about how the earth is compared to an apple. You say that the earth is continuously shrinking much like the skin of an apple when it rots. You also say that the wrinkles formed from this are the mountains. If this were true then wouldn’t there be mountain everywhere? It just doesn’t make that much sense right? Getting back to my theory, I have also found evidence in coal fields. Similar coal fields have been found in Europe, America, and Antarctica. I know that coal only forms in warm places. It cant form in Antarctica without a warmer temperature. This tells me that Antarctica was once in a different spot then where it is today. Is my idea starting to make sense?
I have also found evidence of continental drift in the climate of areas. Fellow geologists have found ancient plant fossils on an island called Spitsbergen in the Greenland sea. Tropical plants are not able to survive there today. Spitsbergen must have moved from a lower latitude in the last 200 million years because the climate is too harsh for a tropical plant to live there. Then in South Africa there were glacial scratches found in the plains. South Africa is not that cold, today there are no glaciers in that area. So this also proves that Africa was colder back around when Pangaea was formed.
Fossils also support my idea of continental drift. Fossils are any type of organism preserved in rock. There was an ancient fern like plant called Glossopteris preserved in rock found all over the world, even in Antarctica. Ferns need lots of water to keep themselves alive. I do not believe that Antarctica has that kind of water that isn’t frozen, much less the living condition of this plant. This also tells me that Antarctica was closer to the equator. The fossils of these plants were also found in the Americas and Europe. You might say that the seeds could travel the distance and make it across the gap between South America and Europe. That gap is really far, I don’t think that seeds could make that journey.
From my research, evidence to support my theory has come from landforms, climate, and fossils. I am working on a reasonable explanation of how the continents move. When I am finished I will get it to you as soon as possible. Until then please consider my idea and my reasoning.
Sincerely,
Alfred Wegener
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Tags: 7th grade, Alfred Wegener, Continental drift, continents