Zeeland is a hypothesis put forward in 2017 by a scientific team of 11 geologists from New Zealand , New Caledonia and Australia , who believe that Zealand meets all the necessary criteria to be considered a flooded continent, rather than a microcontinent or continental fragment [1] . Most of the hypothetical continent, about 94%, is located under the waters of the Pacific Ocean , the islands of New Caledonia and the New Zealand islands of the North and South are classified as continental land. It is possible that the hypothetical continent was completely flooded about 23 million years ago, but it is impossible to say unequivocally that it once completely became land. These scientists believe that Zealand broke away from Australia 60–85 million years ago [1] and from Antarctica between 130 and 85 million years ago.
| Zealand, New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Territory | land about 0.33 million km², flooded 4.6 million km² |
| Population | about 5 million people |
| Languages | English, French, Maori, New Zealand Sign Language, etc. |
| Time Zones | UTC + 11 to UTC + 12 |
| Largest cities |  Auckland Wellington Christchurch Hamilton Dunedin Tauranga Noumea |
New Zealand - the largest part of Zealand, which is land, the second largest - New Caledonia . The area of the hypothetical continent is about 4.9 million km²; it is larger than Greenland or India , and more than half the area of the Australian continent .
The most significant parts of Zealand under water are the Lord Howe Ridge , the Challenger Plateau, Campbell Plateau, the Norfolk Ridge, the Gikurangi Plateau and the Chatham Plateau. Smaller underwater parts are the Louiside Plateau, the Melish Plateau, the Kenn Plateau, the Chesterfield Plateau, and the Demper Range [2] .
It is suggested that the Gilbert Seamount, since there is no oceanic crust between it and New Zealand, can also be part of the hypothetical continent of Zealand.
Content
Geology
Unlike most continents, Zealand is largely composed of two approximately parallel mid-ocean ridges. Mountain ranges rise above the ocean floor to depths of 1000-1500 meters, with rare rocky islands rising above sea level. The mountain ranges are of a continental type, but lower in elevation than normal continents, because their crust is thinner than usual (only about 20 kilometers thick).
About 25 million years ago, the southern part of Zealand began to move relative to the northern part (lying on the Indo-Australian plate ). Tectonic efforts across the plate boundary led to the formation of the orogen of the Southern Alps . Further north, subduction of the Pacific plate led to extensive volcanism, in particular Coromandel and the Taupo volcanic zone .
Although Zealand has moved about 6,000 km northwest of the split with Antarctica , volcanoes have the same magma composition as in neighboring parts of Antarctica and Australia .
Population
The total population of Zealand is about 5 million people.
- New Zealand - 4 735 600 people.
- New Caledonia - 252,000
- Norfolk Island - 2,302
- Lord Howe Island - 347 people
- Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef - 0 people
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Nick Mortimer, Hamish J. Campbell, Andy J. Tulloch, Peter R. King, Vaughan M. Stagpoole, Ray A. Wood, Mark S. Rattenbury, Rupert Sutherland, Chris J. Adams, Julien Collot4, Maria Seton; Nick Mortimer, Hamish J. Campbell, Andy J. Tulloch, Peter R. King, Vaughan M. Stagpoole, Ray A. Wood, Mark S. Rattenbury, Rupert Sutherland, Chris J. Adams, Julien Collot4, Maria Seton. Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent . GSA Today Archive . The Geological Society of America (Feb 9, 2017). Archived March / April 2017.
- ↑ Mortimer, Nick (2006), "Zealandia," Australian Earth Sciences Convention , Melbourne, Australia, p. four
Links
- The coast and beyond (inaccessible link) . Archived June 2, 2010. , including map of the New Zealand continent from ^ Figure 8.1: New Zealand in relation to the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates. The State of New Zealand's Environment 1997 (1997). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
- ab Keith Lewis; Scott D. Nodder and Lionel Carter (2007-01-11). Zealandia: the New Zealand continent. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- Searching for the lost continent of Zealandia, The Dominion Post, September 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. "We cannot categorically say that there has always been land here. "The geological evidence at present is too weak, so we are logically forced to consider the possibility that the whole of Zealandia may have sunk."
- Mortimer, Nick (2006), Zealandia, Australian Earth Sciences Convention, Melbourne, Australia. four.
- Wood, Ray; Vaughan Stagpoole, Ian Wright, Bryan Davy and Phil Barnes (2003). New Zealand's Continental Shelf and UNCLOS Article 76 (PDF), Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences series 56; NIVA technical report 123, Wellington, New Zealand: Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited; National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 16. Retrieved on 2007-02-22. "The continuous rifted basement structure, thickness of the crust, and lack of seafloor spreading anomalies are evidence of a deal of the New Zealand land mass to Gilbert Seamount."
- Figure 4. Basement rocks of New Zealand. UNCLOS Article 76: The Land mass, continental shelf, and deep ocean floor: Accretion and suturing. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- Fossil forest: Features of Curio Bay / Porpoise Bay Retrieved on 2007-11-06
- Flannery, Tim (1994). The Future Eaters. Grove Press, New York. Pages 42-43.