According to the theory of continental drift, in prehistoric times, many of today' s separate continents were part of a single huge landmass  As the plates on which this landmass rested began to move, the mass broke apart, and ocean water filled the newly created chasms
The climates of western Africa and of the east coast of South America resemble each other.
 It is hypothesized, for example, that South America was once joined on its east coast with what is now the west coast of Africa