Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other by appearing to drift across the ocean bed. The speculation that continents might have 'drifted' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The concept was independently (and more fully) developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. The theory of continental drift was superseded by the theory of plate tectonics, which builds upon and better explains why the continents move.
Read more about Continental Drift: Evidence That Continents 'drift', Rejection of Wegener's Theory, and Subsequent Vindication, Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the word drift:
“To drift with every passion till my soul
Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play,
Is it for this that I have given away
Mine ancient wisdom, and austere control?
Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll
Scrawled over on some boyish holiday”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)