continental drift

[ kon-tn-en-tl drift ]

noun

1. Geology. the lateral movement of continents resulting from the motion of crustal plates.

continental drift

noun

1. geology the theory that the earth's continents move gradually over the surface of the planet on a substratum of magma. The present-day configuration of the continents is thought to be the result of the fragmentation of a single landmass, Pangaea, that existed 200 million years ago See also plate tectonics

continental drift

1. A theory stating that the Earth's continents have been joined together and have moved away from each other at different times in the Earth's history. The theory was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. While his general idea of continental movement eventually became widely accepted, his explanation for the mechanism of the movement has been supplanted by the theory of plant tectonics.
2. See more at plate tectonics

continental drift

1. A term, no longer used by geologists, that refers to the fact that continents are not stationary, but move across the Earth 's surface. Continental drift is one feature of the modern theory of plate tectonics . ( See Pangaea .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of continental drift¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Such exotic mineral compositions might affect, for example, volcanic eruptions, continental drift and the fraction of a planet’s surface that consists of oceans versus continents.

From Science News

Further work over the next few years showed that continental drift was a symptom of elaborate mechanisms inside the Earth that came to be known as plate tectonics.

From Science News

The Earth of the Mesozoic Era is hot and wet until its final act—the Late Cretaceous—ushers a colder, dryer climate, continental drift, and falling sea levels.

From Nautilus

When the geologist Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912, most of his colleagues thought it was preposterous.

From Quanta Magazine

If the theory of continental drift was correct, there might not even be an American continent, it might still be joined to Europe.

From Project Gutenberg