The Earth's newest continent is waitingfor scientists to recognize it

Awana Beach, on the east coast of the Great Barrier Island, lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Photo: Ross

Land/Getty Images.

Zealandia is a mostly underwater continent. It is part of the country of New Zealand. But

not everyone agrees that it is a continent. Soon, scientists think it will officially be

recognized and put on maps.

Scientists wrote an article explaining that Zealandia should be considered one of the

Earth's continents. They published it in a journal about geology, the study of rocks.

The article says that Zealandia has the right features to be called a continent. The

landmass is very large and made of continental crust. Continental crust is a thick layer of

earth that is older than the layer that makes up the ocean. Continental crust also usually

By Elle Hunt, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.23.17

Word Count 577

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

contains different minerals than ocean crust. It usually makes up land, but sometimes is

under water. Many scientists have been arguing that Zealandia is a continent for the last

20 years.

Zealandia Broke Away

Zealandia covers about 2 million square miles. Most of it is covered by water. It is centered

around New Zealand but also includes many nearby islands and coral reefs. To compare,

it is a little more than half the size of the continental United States. Scientists believe

Zealandia broke away from Gondwana, the large landmass that once included Australia.

Then, between 60 million and 85 million years ago it sank.

“This is a big piece of ground we’re talking about, even if it is submerged,” said Nick

Mortimer. He is a New Zealand geologist, a scientist who studies rocks. He co-authored

the article.

American geologist Bruce Luyendyk was the first to name the area Zealandia back in

1995. Since then, the paper’s co-authors say, more scientists have started using the name.

Zealandia, though, is still not widely known around the world.

Getting Recognized As A Continent

Mortimer told Guardian Australia newspaper that his article was the first that took

Zealandia seriously. Most New Zealand geologists, though, probably already know all

about Zealandia.

Mortimer said he realized Zealandia was a continent back in 2002. Back then, he saw a

new map of the ocean floor. After that, he was just trying to get rocks from all over

Zealandia. He used the rocks to prove that Zealandia was made up of continental crust.

The process has been slow. New Zealand media is excited about the discovery. It makes

New Zealand seem bigger than just a couple of small islands.

Zealandia would be the world’s seventh and smallest continent. The other continents are

Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australia.

The Rocks Add Up

Barry Kohn is a professor of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He

has done work with Mortimer on Zealandia in the past. Kohn said most other scientists

agree that Zealandia is a continent. “It’s pretty clear that that whole area is not part of the

ocean," he said. "It’s got all the hallmarks of a continent.” The rocks from Zealandia were

clearly continental crust.

“Like anything in science, the penny doesn’t always drop right away. You build up a body

of evidence," Kohn said, explaining that it takes time to get enough proof. "It was all once

part of a big continent that’s all broken up into little pieces of the puzzle.”

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

The scientists, though, will decide just yet if it is the seventh continent. Mortimer explained

that it would be up to time. Zealandia would have to become more popular and be drawn

on maps. Mortimer said that would be good enough for the scientists.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3