Final answer:
Evidence supporting Wegener's continental drift hypothesis includes mountain belts that align across continents indicating they were joined in the past. This evidence contributed to the eventual acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics, which explained the mechanisms behind continental movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
One type of evidence that supports Alfred Wegener's continental drift hypothesis is the existence of mountain belts that begin on one continent and continue on another. When Wegener proposed his idea of continental drift in 1915, he backed it up with several pieces of evidence, including the matching shapes of the continents, similar fossils on widely separated lands, and evidence of past climate conditions. Particularly, the presence of mountain ranges that align across continents, such as the Appalachian Mountains in North America lining up with mountain ranges in Greenland and Europe, provided tangible proof that these continents were once part of a larger, connected landmass known as Pangaea.
Wegener's theory initially faced resistance because he lacked a mechanism to explain how continents could move. However, developments in geology, oceanography, and geophysics throughout the mid-20th century, led to the acceptance of plate tectonics, which provided the mechanisms and further vindicated Wegener's initial hypothesis of drifting continents.