What is a submerged continent?

The term "submerged continent" is most often heard in conjunction with the legendary Atlantis or MU countries. Atlantis and have never existed, but there are several real submerged continents around the world. Both are in the southern hemisphere. The immersed continents are called Zealandia and Kerguelen plateau.

Zealandia is the largest of two submerged continents with a surface area of ​​3.5 million square kilometers, larger than Greenland and almost half of Australia. As the name suggests, the only part of the continent over today is the islands of New Zealand. Zealandia sank rapidly when she broke away from Australia/Antarctica 83 million years ago. About 25 million years ago, Zealandia was completely underwater. Today, 93% is still under water, with only 7% of New Zealand today, which was created by a tectonic action about 23 million years ago. Most of the submerged continent is less than 500 m (1,640 ft) Below surface.

Another submerged continent, far to the west, is called Kerguelen Plateau or just Kerguelen. The continent is named after the Kerguelene Islands, which, along with the Heard and McDonald is the only parts of the continent above the surface. Kerguelen is located in one of the regions of the world's oceans furthest from dry land, about 3,000 km southwest of Australia (1,864 million) and 5,000 km (3,100 miles) south of India. Like Zealandia, Kerguelen was one part of the massive continent of Gondwan, which was made of virtually all masses on ground meats in the current southern hemisphere. Kerguelen is smaller than Zealandia, with a surface area slightly larger than a million square kilometers, about three times the size of Japan. More than 99% of the continent is under water.

Kerguelen began to form 110 million years ago, via Hotspot Kerguelen. 100 million years crossing and 20 million years ago the continent was three times above the sea level and could have a tropical flora and fauna 50 million years ago. DThe size of its size is called Kerguelen. Kerguelen fell 20 million years ago and now lies 1-2 km (0.6 - 1.2 Mi) under the ocean.