Scientists stunned after discovering a hidden continent lying 6,500 feet underwater for centuries

Most of us are familiar with the seven continents that cover the majority of Earth’s land and maritime areas. But few know about an "eighth" hidden piece of the puzzle. That’s right—scientists have identified a nearly submerged continent off the eastern coasts of New Zealand and Australia. Known as "Zealandia," this long, narrow microcontinent, as reported by National Geographic, spans roughly 1.89 million square miles, lying almost entirely beneath the South Pacific Ocean.

The traces of Zealandia date back to about 550 million years ago, per BBC. It is mentioned in the scriptures of the oldest inhabitants of the Kiwi land, namely the Māori. The subcontinent, part of a supercontinent called Gondwana, was also referred to as Te Riu-a-Māui by the tribal community before it broke away some 80 million years ago, per National Geographic. Notably, Gondwana mostly included the entire west of Antarctica and the eastern Australia region.

As part of the inquisition activities, an experienced Dutch sailor, Abel Tasman, discovered it in 1642, per BBC. The sailor was determined to find "a vast continent in the southern hemisphere" and was confident that it was out there. He started his journey from Indonesia with two small ships, going in every direction and eventually ended up in the South Island of New Zealand. He met the Māori community, believed to have settled there several centuries earlier, who were unhappy about his arrival on their land. Tasman's mission didn't go as planned and he named the fateful location "Moordenaers" (Murderers) Bay and returned home without finding the new land. Even after Tasman's unsuccessful attempt, this very development inspired geologists to find the uprooted subcontinent some hundred years later.

However, the experts are still scratching their heads about how Zealandia slowly drifted away from Gondwana. There has been no hypothesis or theory backed by evidence to have a clear understanding of the same. Geologists at the Zealand Crown Research Institute GNS Science have used the newly discovered continent, which is mostly underwater, as an example of how something "very obvious" might take a long time to discover.

"[It's] a process which we don't completely understand yet; Zealandia started to be pulled away," Andy Tulloch, a geologist at the New Zealand Crown Research Institute GNS Science, said, per Indy100. His colleague Nick Mortimer, lead researcher on the project, still fascinated by the "mystery," jokingly explained that it was "kind of cool" and "If you think about it, every continent on the planet has different countries on it, [but] there are only three territories on Zealandia." He added that, unlike any other continent being home to multiple nations, Zealandia uniquely had merely three territories.

The newly discovered continent's vast majority area is still located underwater, lying beneath 6,560 feet deep (around 2 kilometers). Not withstanding its remote position, the researchers think Zealandia is a significant find that provides insight into the processes that produced the planet as it is today and its geological past. Yet, the drowned and missing parts of Zealandia are rich in mineral deposits. It makes the subcontinent more interesting for further research even though New Zealand's government maintains its hold over the undersea mining activity. In addition, Zealandia is reportedly home to numerous natural gas fields as well.