TheEarthMaster

Zealandia is considered by many geologists to be Earth’s hidden eighth continent—a vast landmass nearly the size of Australia, with about 94% of it lying beneath the ocean’s surface. Zealandia is an enormous, largely submerged landmass in the southwestern Pacific that many geologists regard as Earth’s eighth continent. Spanning roughly 4.9 million square kilometers (1.9 million square miles), it is about two-thirds the size of Australia, yet nearly 94% of it remains hidden beneath the ocean. The continent broke away from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana around 80 million years ago. As tectonic forces stretched and thinned its crust, much of Zealandia slowly subsided below sea level. Today, most of the landmass lies between 1,000 and 3,000 meters (3,300 to 9,800 feet) underwater—significantly shallower than the surrounding Pacific seafloor, which commonly reaches depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters (13,000 to 20,000 feet) or more. Only its highest elevations remain above the surface, forming islands such as New Zealand and New Caledonia.