Final answer:
People started believing in continental drift due to several pieces of evidence presented by Alfred Wegener, such as the fit of coastlines, matching fossils, similar mountain ranges, and paleoclimate evidence. The acceptance of continental drift was further bolstered by the theory of plate tectonics, which provided a mechanism to explain the movement of continents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The belief in continental drift began to gain acceptance due to several pieces of evidence put forward by Alfred Wegener in 1915. Firstly, he noticed that the coastlines of different continents appeared to fit together like a puzzle, suggesting that the continents were once connected. Secondly, he found matching fossils on continents that were separated by oceans, indicating that they were once joined. Thirdly, he observed similar mountain ranges on continents that were geographically distant, implying that they were once part of the same landmass. Lastly, he gathered paleoclimate evidence that suggested the position of continents in the past.
Despite facing skepticism initially, Wegener's hypothesis gained momentum in the 1960s when scientists like Harry Hess expanded upon it and proposed the theory of plate tectonics. This theory provided a mechanism to explain how the continents could drift over thousands of miles. Due to the accumulating evidence and the development of plate tectonics, continental drift became widely accepted and revolutionized our understanding of the Earth's dynamics