Snider-Pellegrini geological theory. Image 1 of 2. Map of the continents before their separation, as depicted in 1858 by the French geographer Antonio Snider-Pellegrini. The map shows how the coastline of the Americas fits those of Europe and Africa. Snider-Pellegrini's theory was that the continents were created by God in this form, and were then separated by a volcanic explosion on the sixth day of creation. The idea that there was once a single supercontinent was not a new one, but the first modern theory of continental drift was that of Wegener, published in 1912. For the continents after separation, see V650/016. Map published in La Creation et ses Mysteres devoiles (Creation and its Mysteries Unveiled, 1858, Paris).