Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Zealandia lay undetected beneath the Pacific for centuries—95% of it submerged, quietly existing without a name or a map.
Recognized only in 2017, Zealandia joined the elite club of continents, earning its place not by land height, but by geological identity.
Once part of Gondwana, Zealandia began drifting 105 million years ago—only to vanish beneath the ocean, like a lost page of Earth’s story.
Thanks to a 2023 study, Zealandia is now the world’s first fully mapped continent—despite being almost entirely underwater.
What makes it a continent? Its crust. Scientist Nick Mortimer explains that Zealandia's distinct continental crust qualifies it, not its elevation.
Mapping Zealandia meant decoding the ocean floor. Rock samples and deep-sea surveys brought this sunken realm back into focus.
Today, New Zealand and a few nearby islands are all that remain above water—visible tips of a submerged giant.
Zealandia’s underwater silence preserved ancient geological clues, offering scientists a window into Earth’s tectonic evolution.
Why did Zealandia sink? Experts still don’t fully know. But its fall from continental grace only adds to its magnetic mystery.