The opening of the Atlantic Ocean (1858)

These two maps were published in 1858 by French geographer and geologist Antonio Snider-Pellegrini.

Shortly after the discovery of America by Europeans, Abraham Ortelius observed the similarity between the coasts of the New World and the Old World, which, according to his interpretation, could only have occurred if America had separated from Africa and Europe through a succession of earthquakes and floods.

Ortelius' claims were lost, at least until 1858, when Antonio Snider-Pellegrini re-established this theory and attempted to formalise it. Not only was there a great similarity between the two coasts, but the fossil evidence on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean also matched.

As part of his studies, Snider-Pellegrini published these two maps showing what the distribution of land may have been like before and after the separation.

You can read more details in this article about the history of Pangaea.

Sources


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