Page 15 - Key to Social Studies 4
P. 15
Let’s Connect
Countries and continents were not always in this form, and their relative and
absolute locations have not always been the way they are now.
The Globe in the Past
The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener was the
rst to discover what the globe looked like in the
past. Earth was comprised of a supercontinent
called Pangaea, surrounded by one ocean known as
the Tethys ocean.
Countries’ locations and coordinates would be very
di erent if they had not got separated. However, the
way we measure longitudes and latitudes would still
be the same.
The Globe in the Present
The supercontinent of Pangaea broke apart to form
the continents and oceans of the modern day.
Now, the continents are further apart; some are
located in the Northern Hemisphere and others in
the Southern Hemisphere. This makes reaching the
di erent countries of the world a little di cult. To
travel around the globe, you need to do it by
airplane.
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