January 7, 2020 Comments Off on Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent Views: 1022 Urban Trekker

The number of continents on Earth has never been fixed. There have been those times (millions of years ago) when all continents were one, forming Pangea, and today the facts say Earth has seven continents. In the future, we might want to revise such a number. Similarly to how we have omitted Pluto from the list of planets.

Zealandia is a gigantic landmass that almost entirely lurks underwater in the southwest Pacific. Its most famous bit is New Zealand, which would amount to the continent’s highest mountain.

A question that poses here: what are the eligibility criteria for classifying a landmass as a continent?

Aerial view of Ball’s Pyramid, Lord Howe Island Group, where Zealandia towers above the surface

Obviously, floating above water is not determinative of whether a specific landmass can count as a continent or not since 94% of Zealandia remains underwater. According to scientists, what’s also important is that the landmass represents a well-defined area, which has an elevation above the surrounding area, a crust that is thicker than the standard ocean floor, and authentic geology.

Zealandia does have all of these characteristics. It extends over five million sq km (1.9 sq miles), which is roughly two-thirds of Australia next door. Zealandia’s continental features have been explained in a scientific paper issued in the Geological Society of America’s Journal in 2017.

Topographic maps of Zealandia

Given that we agree Zealandia is Earth’s eight and hidden continent, it would represent the home of approximately 5 million people. Although most of its landmass is submerged to the ocean, it still has more population than Antarctica, which only has a population of 1,106 individuals according to the last census.

Zealandia’s most densely populated city would be Auckland, which is New Zealand’s largest city with a population count of over 1.5 million people. New Zealand’s capital city still is Wellington, but it only has a population of 212,000.

Scenic view from Auckland, New Zealand

The continent’s highest peak would be Aoraki (Mount Cook), and it’s one of the many fascinating sites that you can check while touring the region. Zealandia’s three largest land masses would include New Zealand’s North and South Islands, as well as New Caledonia which is a French territory overseas. Australia’s Lord Howe and Nepean islands would both count under Zealandia, too.

It may take a while until everyone accepts the idea Zealandia represents a continent on its own right. Essentially, it’s a vast, unfragmented landmass, valuable for geological research. One challenge is the absence of a scientific committee that specifically rules what can classify as a continent and what not. However, if scientific papers consistently accept the idea Zealandia represents a continental mass, we may have to change textbooks soon.

So sorry Atlantida!

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Tags: Australia, continents, earth, geography, nature, New Zealand, Zealandia