The History of Continental Drift

Our current theories and beliefs about the configuration of the continents on our planet's surface as we see them today, result from many centuries of scientific thought, investigation and evidence.
The history of the acceptance of the idea that the world's continents have ever moved is a long and fascinating one. The following pages give an overview of the theories proposed, and the difficulties faced in having them accepted.

Although the site generally uses metric units of measure, I have used imperial units within these history pages. In the case of the British and American scientists, these are the units that they would have used, and I feel that it adds to the 'historical narrative' to use the same.
Of course, the Europeans would not have worked in miles, feet and inches - but for consistency, they do in these pages. Approximate conversions have of course been given, to give an idea of the distances involved.

Many names and dates are given, but the narrative is in chronological order, so these can safely be ignored. For a summary of the dates of particularly significant developments and publications, you can also look to the Geological Events table.

Please use the navigation buttons on the left, or begin by reading about the earliest ideas.

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For any comments, suggestions or contributions, please e-mail me at: portsdown@bbm.me.uk