ZEALANDIA is Earth’s eighth new continent! Scientists discover 5million square kilometer landmass east of Australia

We may very soon be able to visit a new continent on the planet earth! Yes, if the reports are to be believed, scientists have discovered a new, eighth continent on earth and they are calling it Zealandia. Located to the east of Australia, a team of 11 geologists found 5 million square kilometre land mass which includes part of New Zealand and New Caledonia. At 4.9 million square kilometres, Zealandia is touted to be Earth’s smallest continent with Asia as the largest continent. There are seven continents in the world and the latest discovery of the eighth continent, Zealandia is indeed an earth-shattering moment for all the inhabitants worldwide. By convention, “continents are understood to be large, continuous, discrete masses of land, ideally separated by expanses of water.” According to geographical nomenclature, there are seven continents in the world – Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Antarctica, with Zealandia all set to include as the eighth continent. A team of 11 geologists, published the paper, titled ‘Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent,’ in which they claimed Zealandia has all four attributes necessary to be considered a continent. The four characteristics are – Elevation, Geology, Crustal Structure and Limits and Area.