Geoscientists recently made a groundbreaking discovery by confirming the existence of a continent that had remained hidden for nearly 375 years. This continent, known as Zealandia or Te Riu-a-Maui in the Maori language, spans an impressive 1.89 million square miles. Zealandia was once part of the supercontinent Gondwana, which also included significant portions of Western Antarctica and Eastern Australia over 500 million years ago.
The first mention of Zealandia dates back to 1642 when Dutch sailor Abel Tasman embarked on a quest to find the elusive 'Great Southern Continent'. Although Tasman did not stumble upon the new land, he encountered the local Maori population who shared crucial insights about the surrounding geography, hinting at the presence of a substantial landmass to the east.
