You might think you know all the continents, but what about Zealandia?
In 2017, a previously unknown population was discovered off the coast of New Zealand, making headlines around the world.
known as Zealandia Te Riua Maui In Māori, it covers an area of more than 5 million square kilometers, twice the size of the Indian subcontinent.
So you may be wondering why we didn’t discover it sooner.
That’s because 95 percent of its area is submerged under the southwest Pacific Ocean, and it disappeared long before humans ever existed on Earth. Only large mountain ranges (New Zealand’s two islands) and some small oceanic islands are visible on the ground.
Little is known about this recently discovered continent, mainly because it is almost completely inaccessible. However, a team of geologists from around the world has compiled a new geological map that includes Zealandia. The map was created using a combination of rock samples recovered from the ocean and geophysical mapping techniques.
Searching for samples, geologists traced the outer edge of Zealandia and discovered large sandstone beds and pebble deposits of basaltic rock.
The sandstone is thought to be around 95 million years old and contains older granite and volcanic pebbles, meaning that when Zealandia was an arid region, rivers flowing from volcanic highlands filled tectonic basins. It suggests that it was.
This highland was an active volcanic region at least 30 to 50 million years ago, but may have been eroded as sandstone was deposited.
Geologists believe that Zealandia gradually flooded around 40 million years ago, thanks to the discovery of basalt pebbles linked to underwater volcanism.
The research “Reconnaissance of subsurface geology and tectonics in North Zealandia” was published in the journal. Crustal deformation(2023).
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