Wegener’s Shoes Writing Assignment.

We may not realize it but the continents we live in fact do move because of a phenomenon

that scientists call continental drift. A very credible German scientist that goes by the name of Alfred

Wegener discovered very convincing evidence of continental drift quite some time ago. He is a

credible source because he has a Ph. D from the University of Berlin, is extremely intelligent

(obviously) and he is a meteorologist, better known as today as a “weather boy”. One of the things

that Wegener discovered is that just by looking at the map of the world we can see that all of the

continents fit together kind of like a puzzle. The continents fitting together birthed the theory that all

continents were once together, forming a “super continent” we know of today as Pangaea. Pangaea

then split apart and the continents drifted into the positions they are in today. It is not just a

coincidence that all of the continents just happen to fit together . Another piece of evidence that

Wegener discovered was the Correlation of fossils on completely different continents. Fossils of the

now extinct Cynognathus were found on South America and Africa, directly across from each other.

This animal does not swim so it most likely could not have crossed the Atlantic ocean. Another fossil

found in both South America and Africa is called the Mesosaurus which too did not have the ability to

cross that great body of water because it only lived in fresh water and the distance was too great. The

fossils were found in both continents not because they moved themselves, but because the

continents moved them. Wegener’s was the reason that continental drift is a seriously researched

topic now, all this time later National Geographic still strives to learn about continental drift. In this

article (https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/continental-drift/) it is said that “…

continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving…” It

seems to be a fact that continents do in fact sit on plates, and the tectonic plates do in fact move, so

the continents MUST be moving, it is undeniable at this point. National Geographic is a very reliable

source, they have many bright minds at their disposal and have earned a great reputation and

credibility over their many years of providing good information to the public. This reinforces the idea

of continental drift substantially and supports my thesis. My last piece of evidence is from an article

from Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/science/continental-drift-geology), another

extremely reliable source. We know for a fact that plates collide and form ridges underwater,

Britannica is suggesting that “As the plates move away from the flanks of the ridges, they carry the

continents with them.” This has to be true because the continents are sitting on the plates, so the

continents must move with the plates. In conclusion as we can see from all of this super concrete

evidence from all these super credible sources that the theory of continental drift is not just a theory,

it is a fact. 

 

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