Existence of Zealandia confirmed

In news- After 375 years of speculation and exploration, scientists have finally confirmed the existence of a “missing” continent known as Zealandia.

About Zealandia-

Zealandia which is approximately 1.89 million square miles in size, was once part of an ancient supercontinent called Gondwana, which also included Western Antarctica and Eastern Australia over 500 million years ago.
However, it began to “pull away” from Gondwana for reasons that geologists are still trying to understand roughly 105 million years ago.
As it did so, it gradually sank beneath the waves, with over 94% of the landmass remaining underwater for millennia.
It is called as Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language(It is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand).
The existence of Zealandia was first recorded in 1642 by Dutch businessman and sailor Abel Tasman, who was on a mission to find the “great Southern Continent” or Terra Australis.
In 2017, GNS geologists finally confirmed the existence of Zealandia, which had been hiding in plain sight all along.
The vast majority of this “new” continent is located underwater, lying beneath 6,560 feet (2km) of water.
Zealandia is now recognized as the world’s eighth continent, but its unique characteristics make it stand out from the other continents on the planet.
Every other continent is home to multiple countries, while Zealandia has only three territories.
Despite its underwater location, Zealandia is an important discovery that sheds light on the earth’s geological history and the forces that shaped the planet as we know it today.