New Zealand sits atop a previously unknown continent -- mostly submerged beneath the South Pacific -- that should be recognised with the name Zealandia, scientists said Friday. Researchers said Zealandia was a distinct geological entity and met all the criteria applied to Earth's seven other continents -- elevation above the surrounding area, distinctive geology, a well-defined area and a crust much thicker than that found on the ocean floor. In a paper published in the Geological Society of America's Journal, GSA Today, they said Zealandia measured five million square kilometre (1.9 million square miles) and was 94 percent underwater.
Forget Atlantis — there’s a real underwater land mass hidden beneath the South Pacific, scientists say. In a new study, they identify it as a continent called Zealandia. The researchers say that the few small islands that make up New Zealand are actually just part of a large, previously unknown continent, 94 percent of which is submerged under the sea. Zealandia meets the criteria traditionally used to classify a continent, according the study led by geologists at GNS Science, a New Zealand research group also known by its Maori name, Te Pū Ao. “Being more than 1 million square kilometers in area, and bounded by well-defined geologic and geographic limits, Zealandia is, by our definition,
