Why was the continental drift theory of Alfred Wegener rejected?
Some truly revolutionary scientific theories may take years or decades to win general acceptance among scientists. Wegener’s explanation of continental drift in 1912 was that drifting occurred because of the earth’s rotation. This explanation and his theory were not widely accepted. Prior to Wegener, however, many had noted that the shapes of the continents seem to fit together, suggesting some schism in the past. In our brief time here on Earth it is difficult to explain what has taken plate tectonics hundreds of millions of years or more to accomplish. This is certainly true of plate tectonics, one of the most important and far-ranging geological theories of all time; when first proposed, it was ridiculed, but steadily accumulating evidence finally prompted its acceptance, with immense consequences for geology, geophysics, oceanography, and paleontology. Evidence for continental drift is now extensive. Similar plant and animal fossils are found around different continent shores, sugg
