The basic theory of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere is broken into several parts, or plates, that move over a hot and pliable layer of the mantle. How it pertains to continental drift is that, "The earth's oceans and continents ride atop the plates as they move in different directions. (The Changing Earth, pg. 21)"

The theory of continental drift is that the earth continents were once united into one super-continent, called "Pangea", and over a period of 200 to 225 million years broke up and evolved into the current continents we know today. This spawned first from Abraham Ortelius, who noted that, "The Americas were torn away from Europe and Asia...by earthquake and flood. (Dynamic Earth, Historical Perspective)" This theory later resurfaced in the 19th century by Alfred Lothar Wegener, who thought in a course of 200 million the earth began to split into smaller continents. He also noted...