Unveiling the mystery of Earth's 8th continent: 94% underwater, half the size of Australia

After a long time, scientists have finally drawn a complete map of the continent of Zealandia - the 8th continent on Earth.

Business Insider once published an article about the 8th continent on Earth – Zealandia. After many decades, scientists have finally been able to draw a complete map of Zealandia. The mysteries related to this lost continent are gradually being clarified.

Zealandia is an ancient continent that humans have yet to fully explore. 94% of Zealandia lies beneath the Pacific Ocean, with only islands such as New Caledonia, South New Zealand, and North New Zealand emerging. Although it was only fully mapped in September 2023, Zealandia has existed for 80 million years, gradually sinking and separating from the supercontinent Gondwana.

In the map shared by Business Insider, Zealandia is 1.9 million square miles (3 million square kilometers), half the size of modern-day Australia. At that size, it is an official continent, not a microcontinent like Madagascar, Mauritia, Jan Mayen, etc. In addition, Zealandia is much higher than the oceanic crust.

Zealandia's borders are marked by a line connecting its continental slope to the ocean floor. The continent's surface is marked by many valleys, mountain ranges, canyons, and plains. This also makes it difficult to survey and map.

Zealandia is geologically separate from the other continents of Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. It is a “sibling” of present-day Antarctica, Australia, Africa, and India. In the Late Jurassic period (about 160 million years ago), the supercontinent Gondwana began to break apart.

For a long time, we have heard about seven continents on Earth, including: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia. However, there are still doubts that many civilizations and lands were submerged under the ocean after a great flood. There is a continent that is actually underwater - Zealandia. However, scientists have not yet been able to explain all the mysteries of this 8th continent. This will still be a mysterious place that needs to be studied more in the future.

According to Intellectual Property and Innovation

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kham-pha/ven-man-bi-an-luc-dia-thu-8-cua-trai-dat-94-nam-duoi-nuoc-rong-lon-bang-mot-nua-nuoc-uc/20241014101739046