What is continential drift and how do they drift apart?

Answer 1

Continental drift is the name for the effect Plate Tectonics has on the major continental crust plates of the planet.

Plate Tectonics causes them to 'drift' apart very slowly over very long periods of time. The continents only move a few inches a year on average.


The mechanism by which they move, Plate Tectonics, works essentially like this:



There are faults, or cracks/splits in the earth's crust where the plates push against each other, slide along each other, or are pushed/buried under one another. These plates are always under immense pressure, and sometimes they slip, spread, or are buried deeper under another plate, almost always causing earthquakes.

When this happens, they move slightly, usually ranging from a few inches to a few feet. These slight moves add up over millions of years to move whole crust plates hundreds or thousands of miles.

(simplified)

Answer 2

Continental drift is the theory that Earth's continents have moved over geologic time due to the shifting of tectonic plates. They drift apart as the plates beneath them move in different directions, caused by the forces of convection currents in the Earth's mantle. This movement results in the gradual separation or collision of continents over millions of years.