Continental drift is a historical theory. The theory was first proposed by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. It was fully developed by the German geologist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1915.
The theory said that parts of the Earth's crust move slowly on top of a liquid core. The theory has now been included in the wider theory of plate tectonics.
The theory was supported by finding the same rocks and fossils in western Europe and the eastern North America. There are also similar fossils on the western coast of Africa and the eastern South America. The shapes of these continents nearly fit together. The theory was plausible (believable), but there was no known mechanism to drive these great movements. This problem was later solved by plate tectonics.
The pattern of volcanic activity, mountain building (orogeny) and earthquakes is explained by continental drift. The existence of identical rocks widely apart supports the theory.

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