Scientists Took 375 Years to Discover the World’s Eighth Continent.
According to the BBC, in 1642, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman believed there was a vast continent in the Southern Hemisphere and was determined to find it.
On August 14, 1642, Tasman set sail from the company’s headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, with two small ships, heading west and then east, eventually stopping at South Island, New Zealand. However, the first encounter between Tasman and the local Māori people—who are believed to have settled there centuries earlier—did not go smoothly. Some rowers collided with a small boat transmitting signals between the Dutch vessels, resulting in the deaths of four Europeans.
Tasman named the location of the incident Moordenaers (Murderers) Bay and returned home a few weeks later without ever setting foot on the new land. Nonetheless, he believed he had discovered a great continent to the south…
Zealandia continent viewed from space. (Photo: GNS Science).
About 375 years later, in 2017, a group of geologists announced the discovery of the continent Zealandia (known as Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language). This continent spans 4.9 million square kilometers, which is six times the area of Madagascar. Tasman was correct in believing that there was a missing continent.
Although encyclopedias, maps, and search engines assert that there are only seven continents, the group of geologists claims this is incorrect; instead, there are eight continents. Interestingly, Zealandia has 94% of its area submerged under the Pacific Ocean, including the islands of New Caledonia, South New Zealand, and North New Zealand.
One geologist from the aforementioned group, Andy Tulloch, from the GNS Science Research Institute in New Zealand, stated: “This is evidence that it takes a long time to discover something that clearly exists.”
However, the announcement of the new continent’s discovery is just the beginning. More than four years have passed, and Zealandia remains a mystery, with its secrets lying 2 kilometers beneath the water’s surface. Questions such as: How was it formed? What once lived on this continent? How long has it been underwater? remain unanswered.
Zealandia was originally part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, formed about 550 million years ago, essentially merging all land in the Southern Hemisphere. It occupied a corner in the east, bordering several other areas, including half of Antarctica and all of eastern Australia. Approximately 105 million years ago, due to an unspecified process, Zealandia was pulled away, according to geologist Tulloch.
