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How do polar wandering curves provide evidence for 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.

In the context of paleogeography, polar wandering curves provide compelling evidence for continental drift by demonstrating that continents have moved relative to one another over geologic time.12

When scientists analyze the remanent magnetism in rocks of different ages, they can calculate the apparent position of the magnetic poles at the time those rocks formed. If the continents had remained in fixed positions, the paths of these poles—the polar wandering curves—would be identical regardless of which continent provided the data.231

However, research shows that these curves differ significantly for each continent. This discrepancy cannot be explained by the poles themselves moving, as that would imply multiple, independent polar paths. Instead, the data is reconciled by assuming the continents were once joined and have since drifted apart. For example, the distinct curves for Europe and North America align when one assumes that North America has drifted approximately 30° westward relative to Europe since the Triassic Period.132