Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is the theory of the science that explains the actual movement of the crust of the earth surface. It deals with the dynamics of the outer shell of the earth named as the Lithosphere that mainly revolutionized the science of the earth by giving out a similar context for understanding Volcanoes, the processes of mountain building and evolution of the surface of the earth as well as reconstructing its past Oceans and Continents.

             There exists different evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics. The first evidence is the Coastlines that are on the opposite side of the Continents joining and resemble puzzle pieces, signifying that in the past they were joined together. The second evidence is the Fossils and Rock located in South America resembling those that are in Africa, even though there exists an Ocean that separates the two region that is South America and Africa. The other evidence that is in support of Plate tectonics is seafloor spreading that includes the formation of crust at the boundaries of the divergent, the global spreading of Volcanoes and earthquakes and the existences of the trenches of deep sea as well as ridges of the mid-ocean (Oreskes 27).

            The most common evidence that supports continental drift is the glacial activity. The ice sheet of the Permo-Carboniferous that enclosed the significant plates of all the southern was as a result of the glacial till; this, therefore, indicates movement and shifting of the continent. The actual shapes of the continents also give clues about the evolution of the Continents in the past as represented by the fitting of the Continents’ edges.

Work Cited

Oreskes, Naomi. "From continental drift to plate tectonics." Plate Tectonics. CRC Press, 2018. 27-52.