The two continents whose coastlines have the most obvious “jigsaw” fit are South America and Africa.

Quick Scoop

  • Look at a world map and focus on:
    • The east coast of South America and
    • The west coast of Africa
      Their outlines seem to slot together like puzzle pieces, especially around Brazil and the Gulf of Guinea.
  • This striking fit has long been used as:
    • Classic evidence for continental drift and later plate tectonics.
* Support for the idea that both continents were once joined in the ancient supercontinent **Pangaea** before breaking apart and drifting to their current positions.

In many school questions and geoscience explanations, when someone asks “which two continents have the most obvious fit of the coastlines?” the expected answer is: South America and Africa.

TL;DR: South America and Africa have the most obvious matching coastlines, helping scientists show that continents move and were once joined together.