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How did Alfred Wegener develop the theory of continental drift?

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Watch Earth's Continents Move — paleogeography Watch a time-lapse of Earth changing through geologic time, from the Cambrian Era to the projected period of Pangea Proxima.

Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist and geophysicist, formulated the continental drift hypothesis by synthesizing diverse geological and paleontological evidence. His interest was initially sparked by the striking similarity between the coastlines of South America and Africa, leading him to speculate that these landmasses were once joined.12

Around 1910, Wegener began developing the concept that all modern continents were once united in a single supercontinent he named Pangea. Unlike predecessors who suggested the oceans formed through the sinking of land, Wegener proposed that the continents had slowly drifted apart over vast periods of geologic time.12

To support his theory, Wegener meticulously searched scientific literature for evidence of continuity across oceans, including:
* Paleontological data: Closely related fossil organisms found on widely separated continents.1
* Geological features: Matching rock strata and Paleozoic mountain ranges across the Atlantic.31
* Paleoclimatic evidence: Similar sedimentary sequences, such as tillites, indicating shared climatic histories.3

He first presented these ideas in 1912 and published his comprehensive work, The Origin of Continents and Oceans, in 1915.12