Question map
Name the Continents that form a mirror image of each other
Explanation
The continents of Africa and South America are widely recognized as forming a mirror-image match, particularly between the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa. This observation was a foundational piece of evidence for Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift, as he noted the 'remarkable fit' of these two landmasses. Specifically, the 'bulge' of Brazil in South America appears to fit geometrically into the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. This jigsaw-puzzle-like alignment is further supported by matching geological structures, such as mountain ranges that continue from South Africa into Argentina, and identical fossil distributions of terrestrial organisms that could not have crossed the Atlantic Ocean. While other continents like North America and Europe also show a degree of fit along the continental shelf, the Africa-South America pairing is the most striking and historically significant example of a mirror-image coastline.
Sources
- [1] https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/historical.html
- [2] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 7: Tectonics > Apparent Affinity of Physical Features > p. 96