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Q: What do geographers believed caused pangaea to split into 7 continents?
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What do geographers believe caused pangaea to split into seven continents?

When the idea of Pangaea was created, continental drift, which is the movement of continents relative to each other across the ocean bed, was used to explain the separation of landmasses. However, the prevailing theory of how Pangaea was split into separate continents is explained with plate tectonics. This newer theory takes seismic activity into account and also utilizes data collected from seismologic stations.


What is Pangaea drifted into smaller pieces of continents but before that is was divide first into two major parts they are?

Pangaea separated because of heat buildup. The mantle underneath the thin oceanic crust (several miles thick) surrounding Pangaea lost more heat to the earth's surface than the mantle underneath Pangaea itself (tens of miles thick). This temperature difference altered the convection currents in the mantle and resulted in upward convection underneath Pangaea, which eventually caused it to break into separate pieces along newly-formed divergent boundaries.


Can the continents come together again?

Yes. The convection currents in the mantle caused the continents to move apart, and eventually, they will once again meet someplace else on Earth.


What fore caused the movement of the continents from one super continent to their present position?

The force is continental drift


Explain what force caused the movement of the cotinets from one super-continent to their present postitions?

It is continental drift moving the plates with convection currents in the mantle. Alfred Wegener came up with the plate tectonic theory in 1912 which he laters wrote about in his book in 1915 explaining the super-continent of Pangaea splitting apart to form the 7 continents. His evidence was the similar fossil evidence cross continents, coal deposit evidence and the jigsaw fit between continents such as the west coast of Africa and the east coast of South America. However, he could not prove the convection currents back in 1915. It was only in the 1950s that we found out about palaomagnetism in the Atlantic and pacific ocean with huge ridges running from north to south, thousands of kilometres wide and high.

Related questions

Will there be a Pangaea two?

Pangaea was caused by the moving of the continents and slowly the continents are moving right now so, probably... just think about it...


What do geographers believe caused pangaea to split into seven continents?

When the idea of Pangaea was created, continental drift, which is the movement of continents relative to each other across the ocean bed, was used to explain the separation of landmasses. However, the prevailing theory of how Pangaea was split into separate continents is explained with plate tectonics. This newer theory takes seismic activity into account and also utilizes data collected from seismologic stations.


What caused Pangaea or Pangaea?

The creation of Pangaea was due to plate tectonics which causes continents to grow closer at times, and further apart at others.


What force caused the movement of the continents?

Earhtquakes-because it shook the world, Vocanoes-because the magma melts the rocks and forms new land, etc. Its things like that, that caused Pangaea.(Pangaea-the continents drifted apart)


How did Pangaea separate?

Pangaea separated due to a shift of the tectonic plates, causing the seven continents to form. Geological activity caused the granite crust to separate at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge causing a continental cataclysm that caused the continents to move away from the Ridge toward the opposing side of each continents respective tectonic plates at incredible speeds, forming the mountain ranges.


Did the tectonic plates separate Pangaea?

The plate tectonics are the mechanisms that started to drift Pangaea (super continent) into separate continents 200billion years ago into the continents we have today. :D


What caused pangaea to separte?

Continental Drift caused pangaea to seperate.


Why does the Pangaea supercontinent no longer exist?

The Pangaea super-continent no longer exists because it has broken up into the continents that exist today, as a result of continental drift caused by convection currents in the earth's mantle.


What caused pangaea?

Pangea was the original landmass of Earth so it was probably formed when Earth formed.


Wegner's theory of continental drift?

His theory is that all the continents were connected and made a super continent called Pangaea then eventually the moving of tectonic plates over the millions of years caused the continents moves apart.


What is pangaea and what caused pangaea to separate?

Pangea was a huge landmass made of all the continents today. Tectonic plates in the Earth moved, causing it to split apart.


How do earth effect the earth?

There are plate tectonics in earth and when they move, earth quakes happens. Sometimes the plate tectonics can move a continent. This is called the continental drift. Earth quakes can make volcanoes explode, tsunamis happen, and continents break. For example: The continent Pangaea. Because of the plate tectonics that caused earthquakes, tsunamis, and continents braking apart, the Pangaea broke up in to more continents and the continents broke into even more. That is why there are 7 continents in the world now. Earth quakes don't cause all these. Plate tectonics does. Plate tectonics makes earth quakes. Then, other horrible stuff happens.