The evidence suggests that about 135 million years ago Pangaea split into two land masses called Gondwana (gon-DWAN-a) in the south and Laurasia in the north. Australia, Africa, South America, India and Antarctica together formed Gondwana. About 65 million years ago Gondwana also split apart.Australia has been drifting away from the other continents ever since.

Plate tectonics – Evidence 1 – The Jigsaw

Plate Tectonics Evidence 2 & 3 Rocks and fossils

1. Use an atlas to identify and carefully label the present day continents represented in the Gondwana map below.

2. Use colours, shading and cross hatching to transfer the information on rock age and fossils onto the map below. Include a key.

Explain how the evidence on your map supports the theory of plate tectonics.

Plate Tectonics Evidence 2 & 3 Rocks and fossils information

A Fern which lived 200-250 million years ago

Plate Tectonics Evidence 4

Scientists have used sonar and special and magnetometers to measure the magnetic alignment of rock on either side of mid ocean ridges. The alignment shows a pattern either side of the ridge. This indicates the rock formed in the middle and is slowly moving apart. Scientists say this is a result of magma from the mantle pushing up between two plate boundaries.