From years we have studied that there are 7 continents in the world but now it looks like the kids will have to increases the number to 8. Yes, we may very soon be able to visit a new continent on the planet earth!

According to the latest report, scientists have discovered a new continent called Zealandia, which is mostly underwater.

Yes, if the reports are to be believed, it is the youngest and smallest continent of the world with an area of 4.9 million square kilometers.

A team of 11 geologists has submitted a paper in which they have proposed that an area of the Pacific Ocean which is in the eastern direction of Australia and includes New Zealand and New Caledonia should be considered as a continent.

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.

The researchers at GNS Science (New Zealand’s geoscience agency) have also written that 94% of the land of Zealandia is under water, so it will also be the most submerged of all the continents.

A lot has been written in the paper about many things including the title – “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. Also, it has three types of rocks – igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic and it also has “high elevation relative to regions floored by oceanic crust”.

The geologists have written,

“The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list. That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented makes it a useful and thought-provoking geodynamic end member in exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust.”

As we all know 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.

Isn’t it exciting that we have one more continent? Let us know your views in the comments section below.