Snider-Pellegrini geological theory. Image 2 of 2. Map of the continents after their separation, as depicted in 1858 by the French geographer Antonio Snider-Pellegrini. His theory was that the continents were created by God as one single mass, and 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 before separation, see V650/015. Map published in La Creation et ses Mysteres devoiles (Creation and its Mysteries Unveiled, 1858, Paris).