If the plate tectonics that separated pangaea continue, what will the world look like a long time from now?
967740
Pangaea was not the first supercontinent believed to have existed. From the evidence available, scientists have reconstructed a predecessor, termed Pannotia, that may have formed about 600 mya, before dividing again some 50 million years later. Another, Rodinia, is believed to have formed approximately 1,100 mya and divided 750 mya. Tentative evidence suggests that the Columbia (supercontinent) existed between 1.8 and 1.5 billion years ago. As you can see its a cycle .. So the continents will keep moving closer to each other till they form a new supercontinent  !!!! This cycle called the supercontinent cycle .. for more check : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent_cycle ..
109251
plate tectonics provides an explanation for the continental drift hypothesis.
107934
The Earth's rocky outer crust solidified billions of years ago, soon after the Earth formed. This crust is not a solid shell; it is broken up into huge, thick plates that drift atop the soft, underlying mantle. \nThe plates are made of rock and drift all over the globe; they move both horizontally (sideways) and vertically (up and down). Over long periods of time, the plates also change in size as their margins are added to, crushed together, or pushed back into the Earth's mantle. These plates are from 50 to 250 miles (80 to 400 km) thick. \nThe map of the Earth is always changing; not only are the underlying plates moving, but the plates change in size. Also, the sea level changes over time (as the temperature on Earth varies and the poles melt or freeze to varied extents), covering or exposing different amounts of crust. \nThe current continental and oceanic plates include: the Eurasian plate, Australian-Indian plate, Philippine plate, Pacific plate, Juan de Fuca plate, Nazca plate, Cocos plate, North American plate, Caribbean plate, South American plate, African plate, Arabian plate, the Antarctic plate, and the Scotia plate.
501574
continental puzzle\nmatching rocks\nmatching fossils\nmatching mountain ranges\nmatching glacial deposits called till\n\nNot only was there one large supercontinent, but Pangaea was located along the equator so that places like present day Antarctica had lush forests & abundant fauna. We know this b/c there are fossils of tropical type animals & plants found there.\n\nThe Appalachian Mt. chain that runs up the eastern half of the U.S. from Arkansas all the way up to Maine where it ends only to start back up on Iceland and then back again in the U.K. They are the same age & same rock type & when you put the "puzzle" together they would line up.\n\nThe Andes Mts. in S.America is the same way. The chain ends & starts back up again on Antarctica.
98865
It was once thought that land on earth is stationary and that the continents had always been their current shape, even though they may have been covered by more water.\n\nMore recently however, it has been discovered that the continents were actually all one mass of land and at one point separated, floating apart on sheets of plate tectonics.  \n\nProof came quickly.  It is now easy to see the east coast of South America fitting into west Africa for instance.  Bones of related land-dwelling creatures were also found on the coastlines of the two distant continents.
38918
Mandy and Benny both have valid points. It's because of plate tectonics, because of which continents moved. Pangea (single continent) that existed millions and millions of years ago...slowly started dispersing and if you see the movement of india subcontinent, it moved all the way from southern africa and joined asian continent. This must have created a pileup of land that benny is talking about.
124708
I like this site for looking at where the continents were at different times as the forces of plate tectonics (continental drift) occured.\nhttp://www.scotese.com/earth.htm\n\n50MYA: http://www.scotese.com/newpage9.htm\n150MYA: http://www.scotese.com/late1.htm\n\nThey even project into the 250MY into the future:\nhttp://www.scotese.com/future2.htm\n\nThey also animate the movement of the plates:\nhttp://www.scotese.com/newpage13.htm
223014
Movement of the tectonic plates resulted in the breaking up of "Pangea", the super continent. Here is more information for you including a video clip on the last link. The video takes a bit to load.\n\nHave fun!
587170
Pangaea was the last supercontinent that began to break up about 180 Million years ago. The western part became Laurasia, which eventually split up into smaller continents, such as North America. New York is part of North America. That is the relationship, that New York was once a part of Pangaea.
675558
A good example of this is that scientists have found fossils of exactly the same species of reptile in Africa and South America, what happened here is that South America and Africa were once joined together and these animals died distributed on top of them, then the continents moved aprt and the fossils are on both\nThis isnt an example of evolutionary distribution due to continents moving but shows they do move and animals live on both of them\nNow what could happen is that a species could live on  continents joined together and as the continents drift apart the species are left on both sides of it and they evolve into separate but similar species ( like Humans and apes evolved form a common ancestor). \nSO the continets drifting explains why similar species can be on both sides of the Ocean that separates 2 continents because the continents drift apart with the species on both of them and the species evolve into 2 separate but similar species.
233888
Ok, at divergent plate boundaries the plates are constantly moving apart\n<---->\nthere are magnetic particles (mostly iron) on the sea floor and when the Earth's polarity switches these tiny particles all switch direction. So you can tell how fast the plates are moving apart and several other interesting things by observing this.
564744
Afect in long, medium and short term.\n\nRecent studies shows that earthquakes increase plancton in that specifc area. It warm deep water and increase potenciality of fitoplancton. \n\nInfact is not Tectonic plates but its effects. \n\nOther obvious consequences are volcanoes and montains resultant by tectonic effetc (medium and long term). \n\nAll dorsals (tectonic) have some kind of new categpory of life. They live from minerals, heat and chemicals, entire new ecossitems that are being usedto explain how can be life out of earth. \n\nAt a more long term, you have continent division, creating this way complete new race by geographic isolation. \n\nModern and humans: Tsunamis (changing Human life) like that one last year and  Big one (Economic crisis and Human catastrophic event) - Saint Andreas.
586198
There is few hints like same geology at diferernt geografic points related to the same period; \nSame fauna indicating same region or at leastthey migrated through some kind of bridge;\nObvious fit about the continents. \nWhat cause it is the tectonic movement. Dorsals have separated it and we still in movement there is measure about hom many inches we are far from Europe/AFrica and also to other continents. (Also Heigh of montains are changind)
1081316
The reponse is related to plate tectonics. The earth crust is composed of a larger number of plates that float, very slowly of course, over the liquid interior. Continents therefore move relative to each other. When two plates meet, generally one moves under the other and it is here that we find mountains and volcanoes.\n\nWhat relation with oceans? Well, between some of the plates there is an upwelling of new magma, new crust. This is for instance the case in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The new crust needs room and pushes the plates on the left and right away: the Americas are moving to the west, while Europe and Africa are moving to the east. \n\nOceans (ah, at last!) are watermasses in which such upwelling of fresh crust takes place. An ocean therefore is partly in two or more different plates. On the other hand, seas are bodies of water that are on one continental plate only, or on two plates were no new crust is formed.\n\nHere is a pictures of the different continental plates:\n http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plates_tect2_en.svg
676522
How Saudi Arabia looks now is not the same as it looked when the source rock for the hydrocarbons was being laid down. Continents drift, move from north, south, east and west. Just because there is a desert there now, doesnt suggest that there will always be a desert!
632232
Science explains that the world used to look more like a place called "Pangea", where all of the continents were connected. Over billions of years, the continents started to separate until they were in their present state.\n\nLook up "Pangea" for more information.
114510
Like pauliegone said, the lithosphere does in a way seperate the crust from the mantle.  The tectonis plates (crust) are supported by this semisolid layer.  However, the lithosphere is considered, by some scientists, part of the mantle.  So, it depends on which scientists you believe, although I believe that pauliegone is correct.