Page:The origin of continents and oceans - Wegener, tr. Skerl - 1924.djvu/151

Rh palæogeographic descriptions, for example, of Koszmat or L. Waagen, the areas submerged and emerged are obtained as shown in Fig. 22. But in this period the South Pole advanced from Cape Colony towards Loanda, that is, in the direction of South America, and the North Pole departed from North America. We thus see the rule confirmed that in front of the pole regression occurs, behind it transgression. In the succeeding period, from the Lower Carboniferous to the uppermost Permian, the poles, according to our earlier representation, nearly reverse their direction

of movement: the South Pole wanders from Loanda towards the interior of Australia, and the North Pole approaches North America. The transgressions and regressions shown for this lapse of time are shown in Fig. 23, and the rule is again confirmed. It seems the more significant since the relations in North as well as South America are absolutely reversed. To my knowledge this is the first proof of the correctness of the long postulated law, and the clarity of this result appears to me to be not only a sign of the truth of the displacement theory, but also of the position and movement of the poles assumed by us for this period.