Continental drift the theory that present - day continents have arisen by the breaking up and drifting apart of a previously existing ancient land mass ( pangaea ) 大陆漂移说：现今的大陆是由以前的大陆破裂并分离漂移而逐渐形成的学说。
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Continental drift is now believed to reflect the movement over geological time of underlying plates in the earth ' s crust - the theory of plate tectonics 板块构造学说提出后，大陆漂移说又获得了新的含义，它反映了地壳运动和大州大洋的分布规律。
