Distribution of Oceans and Continents — Practice

Question 1

Name any two pieces of evidence that Wegener used to support Continental Drift Theory.

Accepted Answer

(1) Jigsaw Fit: The Atlantic coastlines of South America and Africa fit together like puzzle pieces, suggesting they were once joined. (2) Fossil Evidence: Identical fossils of Mesosaurus (freshwater reptile) and Glossopteris (seed fern) are found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean — these organisms could not have crossed an ocean, so the continents must have been connected.

Question 2

Distinguish between the three types of plate boundaries and give one example of a landform produced at each.

Accepted Answer

Three types: (1) DIVERGENT BOUNDARY: Plates move away from each other. Magma rises to fill the gap, creating new oceanic crust. Features: mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge), rift valleys (East African Rift), new ocean floors. (2) CONVERGENT BOUNDARY: Plates move towards each other. The denser plate subducts. Features: oceanic trenches (Mariana Trench, deepest at ~11,022 m), volcanic arcs (Japan), fold mountains (Himalayas — where two continental plates collided). (3) TRANSFORM BOUNDARY: Plates slide horizontally past each other. No crust created or destroyed. Feature: fault lines and earthquakes — San Andreas Fault (California).

Question 3

Trace the journey of the Indian Plate from Gondwanaland to the present day and explain how this journey formed the Himalayas.

Accepted Answer

About 250 million years ago, all landmasses were united in the supercontinent Pangaea, with India as part of Gondwanaland — the southern segment. Around 140–200 million years ago, Gondwana began breaking apart. India separated as an independent plate and started moving northward over the Tethys Sea — the ancient ocean that lay between India and Eurasia. The Indian Plate moved unusually fast, up to 15 cm/year, driven by mantle convection. About 50–70 million years ago, the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate. Unlike oceanic-continental collisions (where the oceanic plate subducts), both India and Eurasia had continental crust — which is too light (granite-rich) to sink. Instead of one plate going under, both plates compressed against each other. The thick sedimentary sequences of the Tethys Sea were caught in between and progressively FOLDED AND UPLIFTED — creating the Himalayan ranges. The process continues: the Indian Plate still moves north at ~5 cm/year, and the Himalayas are still rising by a few mm each year. This makes the Himalayan region highly seismically active.

Practice — Distribution of Oceans and Continents

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