Scientists have discovered that the country of New Zealand is actually the tip of a previously unknown continent. Although it mostly lies underneath the pacific ocean, it's full size is about 2/3 the size of Australia. " Just like its former neighbors in Gondwana, the mass that became Zealandia drifted off tens of millions of years ago, the teams says. It had the misfortune of being stretched, thinned and 94 percent of it submerged — so that when humans came along, they mistook it for the ocean crust. "The accuracy and precision of seafloor mapping have improved greatly over the past decades,” the researchers say. They say Zealandia meets all the definitions of a continent: a huge, coherent mass that sits above and is distinct from the ocean crust. " They have named this new continent Zealandia We thought New Zealand was an island nation. Scientists say it’s the tip of a ‘hidden continent.’ And here's a link to the scientific paper for those who really want to know all the details: GSA Today - Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent