Plate Tectonics Prior to World War II, humans were conformed with the idea that the Earth and its continents had been basically unchanged since the beginning of time. A German meteorologist, Alfred Wegener observed that the coastlines of the seven continents could be fitted together almost perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. If fitted together, the geological dating the land would match as well as other geological features. He believed that this was more than coincidence, which happened to be the belief at the time. By putting all the continents together, he formed a large landmass that he named Pangea. This would also explain the same fossils found on 2 continents, sepa