Continental drift is the geological phenomenon in which continents move. These movements at speeds of a few centimeters per year can actually be measured since the advent of satellite geodesy. The movement of continents is caused by plate tectonics.
Alfred Wegener noted at the beginning of the 20th century that the edges of some continents (particularly South America and Africa) are similar in shape, concluding that the continents were connected and separated before. The problem was that it was not known how huge land masses could move across the Earth's surface. Such a movement requires enormous power and it was not known where it came from.
Later it was known that, according to plate tectonics, the continents move as a result of convection currents in the mantle. They slowly move away from each other, bump into each other, slide under each other, or rub against each other. This causes various surface phenomena, such as earthquakes, volcanism, and slow changes, such as subsidence, mountain building and the displacement of continents.
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