How did scientists determine that continents move?
Continental movement became accepted through combined fossil, rock, climate and seafloor evidence stronger than shoreline resemblance alone.
Formation process and geographic mechanism
Rock belts of matching age and fossils of the same land organisms on separated continents indicated former connections. Glacial marks in today's tropics and ancient coal in cold regions suggested that continents once occupied other latitudes. Alfred Wegener assembled this evidence as continental drift, but debate continued because he lacked an adequate mechanism.
Spatial outcomes, measurement and management
In the 1950s and 1960s, ocean ridges, symmetrical magnetic stripes, seafloor-age patterns and deep trenches were mapped. Earthquake foci aligned along sinking slabs, unifying seafloor spreading and continental motion. GPS stations now measure plate velocities directly to millimeter precision, recording movement in both geology and real time.