Coal reserves have been found in Antarctica, 500km from the South Pole. Due to the current climate of Antarctica only feasible explanation behind this discovery is that there has been a change in latitude throughout the continent. This supports the idea that Antarctica has not always been located at the South Pole where it is impossible for plants to grow. It is believed that when Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwanaland, forests and swamps were formed which then lead to the formation of coal as the pressure from layers of sand, sediment, and plant and animal remains forced out water from the layers to leave behind coal. In the same way that fossil discovery supports continental drift and tectonic plate theory, the discovery of coal reserves supports these theories in the same …show more content…
Similar rock types and structure have been found on the two sides of the Atlantic. The sequences of sedimentary and igneous rocks from the Appalachian Mountains of North America match those from the Caledonian Mountains of Scotland. Geologists believe that because of the similarities in rock type and rock sequence, both the Appalachian Mountain range and the Caledonian Mountain range were part of the same ancient mountain range known as the Central Pangaean Mountains which were formed when the North American plate and the Eurasian Plate collided. This belief can be used to support and explain plate tectonics theory which could be deemed necessary for our understanding of the