Zealandia Continent: So is Zealandia the world’s ‘eighth continent’, scientists discovered it, see details

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• A recent research has revealed that there are not 7 but 8 continents in the world.

• Scientists have also prepared a map of this new continent

Uncovering the Mystery of Zealandia, 8th Continent of World: In schools and colleges you have been taught about the continents of the world. Do you know how many there are? Most likely, as everyone will say, your answer is probably seven. And you would be right too. After all, that’s what we’ve been taught, right? There are seven continents in the world. A recent research has revealed that there are not 7 but 8 continents in the world, out of which the eighth continent is submerged in the ocean. The name of this eighth continent is ‘Zealandia’. Recently scientists have also prepared a map of this new continent.

Yes, you heard it right. In fact there may be an eighth continent that is hidden in plain sight and is still unknown. Geologists have recently discovered a large part of the land inside the Pacific Ocean which people had forgotten.

However, there’s a problem – about 94 percent of the continent is actually underwater. There are only a few islands like New Zealand, which are emerging from the depths of the ocean. And with that discovery, we have enough evidence of the world’s 8th continent. Are you still curious? Read on to know more about Zealandia, the 8th continent.

Learn more about the eighth continent, Zealandia

The continent named Zealandia is approximately 3500 feet deep inside the southern region of the Pacific Ocean. There is a lot of debate going on about this continent as to what it should be called or not. We all know that the exact definition of the word ‘continent’ is quite controversial.

However, according to scientists, the boundaries of a continent must be clearly defined, and its area must exceed 1 million square kilometers. A continent must also be raised above the surrounding ocean crust and have a continental crust that is thicker than the oceanic crust.

The thing about Zealandia is that it meets all the important criteria listed by scientists. Furthermore, if you drained the entire ocean, this particular mass of land would stand as a proper plateau above sea level. There was an initial problem with Zealandia. The oldest rock and crust samples ever recovered from this land mass date back to about 500 million years ago. It can be seen as a contrast to the layers of other continents, which are about 1 billion years old.

However, according to new studies, the details have to be changed. A study was recently published by Geoscienceworld, and it found that the part of the 8th missing continent, Zealandia, that was submerged under water, is twice as large as scientists originally thought. Therefore, the study provided the final tick on this part of the land.

First evidence about the presence of Zealandia

The first evidence of the presence of Zealandia was found in the year 1642. This happened when Abel Tasman, who was a Dutch sailor, was on a mission to discover a huge continent located in the southern hemisphere. I really believe in the existence of such a large land. Therefore, on 14 August, Tasman set sail from Jakarta with two small ships. He began to move west and south, then east, and eventually reached the South Island of New Zealand.

During his travels, he certainly encountered many different adventures. His meeting with the Maori people, who are the native inhabitants of the islands in New Zealand, was certainly of particular interest. However, he still had confidence in his discovery of the great southern continent. Finally, Tasman managed to discover the continent – only he had no idea that most of it was under water.

Zealandia’s unusual discovery

Since the first encounter with Abel Tasman, Scientists have actually been on their way to Zealandia for a long time. Finally, after about 375 years, in 2017, geologists discovered Zealandia, and we now have 8 continents in the world. Did you know that Zealandia is called Te Riu-a-Maui in the Maori language?

The total area of ​​New Zealand is approximately 4.9 million square kilometers. This is approximately 6 times the current size and area of ​​Madagascar. In addition to New Zealand, other territories and islands included in the continent, such as New Caledonia and other Australian territories belonging to Lord How Island, as well as the Pyramids of Bali.

rocks of zealandia

This submerged continent was actually a part of the ancient continent we know as Gondwanaland, which existed about 80 years ago. However, the continent has been almost submerged for the last 23 million years. Therefore, there is no doubt that studying the entire land mass will be a challenge for geologists.

Despite being submerged and extremely thin, geologists are confident that Zealandia is definitely a continent because of the variety of rocks found here. The sea floor is made of igneous rocks like basalt. However, traces of metamorphic, igneous as well as sedimentary rocks are present in the continental crust. Scientists have found rocks like schist, granite and limestone on the continent.

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