Continental Drift Activity

~USGS Fossil and Mountain Chain Evidence
DIRECTIONS: 1) Label each continent with Its name.

2
) Color the fossils or mountains In the legend
and color the symbols on each
continent in the colors of the
legend. 3) Cut out the continents
a nd match up the fossil and
mountain evidence to
recreate Pangea. 4) Glue
the continents into
place on your
contruction
paper.
• The European Flora

..._. Cynognathus reptile
Lystrosaurus reptile
,.att Glossopteris plant
Mesosaurus reptile
l Alpine Mountains
This Dynamic Planet; A Teaching Companion

Modified From: Wegener's Puzzling Continental Drift Evidence
US. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, 2008
U.S. Geological Survey For updates see <http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/about/edu/dynamicplanet>
Name,_ _ _ _ _ _ __
Continental Drift Activity Packet
Instructions: I f the supercontinent Pangea based on

You will be piecing together a puzz e O continents.
fossil and rock evidence on the present d~y a color to each type of fossil or
1. On the puzzle pieces handout,dass ign the areas on the landmasses
mountain belt in the legend an co 1or
according to the legend. f th continents. These are the
2. Use scissors to cut along the borders O e b ke up
approximate shape of the c?ntinents after P~nge: :~and ~ove them
3 Place the continents on a piece of construction P P h th
· around using the fossil and mountain · ch81·n evidence to mate e rt f
continents together in the position they were in when they were pa 0
Pangea. The pieces may not fit together exactly! .
4. When you have assembled Pangea based on th~ fossil an~ rock
locations, glue the continents onto your construction paper in the shape of
the supercontinent. Glue the legend to your puzzle.
Questions:
1. What is the idea of Continental Drift?
2. Which 2 continents have the most obvious fit of the coastlines?
3. How were the fossil symbols and mountain belts helpful in deciding where
to move the continents?
4. Why don't the present shapes of the continents fit perfectly into a
supercontinent?
5. Which fossil occurs on the most landmasses? What does this suggest
about when these particular continents broke up?
Evidence or Not?
On the Analyzing Evidence worksheet, read the statement in each box and check
whether the statement is evidence or not in the left columns, and whether is
supports the movements of the continents in the right columns.
Date _ _ _ _ __
Analyzing Evidence: Continental Drift

Does it sup-
port the idea
that the con·
ls it evidence? tinents have
Statements moved?
Yes No
Yes No \
1. 1858: Geologist Eduard Seuss points out that fossils of the Glossopteris
plant are found in southern Africa, South America, Australia, Antarc-
tica, and India.
Wegener examines the location of tiny rocks and the direction of

2.
grooves formed by large glaciers scraping across southern areas of
Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and India. He concludes
that if all these places were fined together, they would form a
continuous ice sheet expanding outward in all directions.
Frankfurt News, January 6, 1 912: Announcement that German

3.
scientist Alfred Wegener will speak at the Geological Association
meeting.
Popular Geology magazine, March 12, 1912: "Continents are so large they
4.
must always have been where they are."
Wegener observes that a South American mountain range in Argentina

5.
an ancient African mountain range in South Africa when
lines up with
are placed together. He writes: "It is just as if we were
the two continents
to refit the torn pieces of a newspaper by matching their edges and
then check whether the lines of print ran smoothly across. If they do,
there is no thing left but to concludet hatt he pieces were in fact joined
int his way."

1927: Geologist Alexander du Toit observes rock layers on the western
6.
coast of Africa in the following sequence: basalt rock, shale contain-
ing fossil reptiles, coal layers containing Glossopteris fossils, rocks con-
taining Mesosaurus fossils, and shale. He discovers an almost identical
sequence of r ock layers on the eastern coast of South America.
1944: Geologist Baily Willis calls Wegener's theory a fairy tale. He

7.
argues that the theory should be ignored.
8. 1965: Geologist Edward Bullard uses computers to match coasts of

South America and Africa. They match extremely well at an ocean
depth of 1,000 meters.
9. 1980s: Satellites and lasers are used to measure the movement of con-
tinents. They continue to move at an average of about 2 cm (0.8 in)
per year.
10. Fossils of Megascolecina earthworms are found in South America

Africa, India, and Australia, as well as the islands of Madagascar ,
and New Guinea.
Modified From:
Science Education for Public Underestanding Program (SEPUP): Issues and Earth Science • Student Sheet 41.1
D-65

Continental Drift Activity

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Continental Drift Activity

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Continental Drift Activity

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

~USGS Fossil and Mountain Chain Evidence

DIRECTIONS: 1) Label each continent with Its name.

• The European Flora

,.att Glossopteris plant

This Dynamic Planet; A Teaching Companion

Instructions: I f the supercontinent Pangea based on

2. Which 2 continents have the most obvious fit of the coastlines?

Analyzing Evidence: Continental Drift

tica, and India.

Wegener examines the location of tiny rocks and the direction of

Frankfurt News, January 6, 1 912: Announcement that German

Wegener observes that a South American mountain range in Argentina

int his way."

1944: Geologist Baily Willis calls Wegener's theory a fairy tale. He

8. 1965: Geologist Edward Bullard uses computers to match coasts of

10. Fossils of Megascolecina earthworms are found in South America

You might also like