The discovery of a submerged continent off the coast of northern Australia has unveiled an ancient landscape that was once home to a thriving population. Spanning an immense 390,000 square kilometers, larger than New Zealand, this now-submerged continental shelf dates back 65,000 years. Led by Kasih Norman of Queensland’s Griffith University, a team of scientists made this groundbreaking find and are amazed by the complexity of the landscape they uncovered.
The submerged continent, known as the Northwest Shelf, presents a landscape unlike any found on Australia's current landmass. It harbored a diverse range of habitats, including archipelagos, lakes, rivers, and a sizable inland sea known as the Malita inland sea. The region was rich in both freshwater and saltwater environments, making it a mosaic of habitable ecosystems.
