Final answer:
The coasts of North and South America seem to fit together with the coasts of Europe and Africa due to a process called continental drift. Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents over millions of years. The evidence supporting continental drift includes the matching shapes of the continents' coastlines and similar rock formations and fossils found on different continents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reason why the coasts of North and South America seem to fit together with the coasts of Europe and Africa is due to a process called continental drift. The idea of continental drift was proposed by a German scientist named Alfred Wegener in the 1920s. Wegener suggested that the continents were once connected and have since moved apart over millions of years.
Through the process of plate tectonics, the Earth's crust is composed of several large plates that are constantly moving. The movement of these plates causes continents to drift apart or collide with each other. The Atlantic Ocean, for example, formed as North and South America moved away from Europe and Africa.
The evidence supporting the idea of continental drift includes the matching shapes of the continents' coastlines, similar rock formations and fossils found on different continents, and the presence of a mid-Atlantic ridge where new ocean floor is created as the continents separate.