@Zealandia is a relatively recently recognized continent that is mostly submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean. It is located to the east of Australia and to the south of New Caledonia. It has an area of approximately 4.9 million square kilometers, which is about two-thirds the size of Australia.
Zealandia was first proposed as a separate continent in 1995 by the geophysicist Bruce Luyendyk, and since then, several scientific studies have supported the idea.
It is believed to have separated from the supercontinent Gondwana around 85 million years ago and to have been largely submerged for the past 23 million years.
Zealandia is primarily made up of continental crust, which is different from the oceanic crust that makes up most of the seafloor. It is also home to a number of unique plant and animal species that have evolved in isolation. Despite its size and significance, Zealandia is not widely recognized as a continent by the international scientific community, and it is not included as a separate continent on most maps.
