It turns out New Zealand isn't a couple of small islands at the bottom of the world. It's actually a continent - most of which just happens to be under the sea.

"The identification of Zealandia as a geological continent, rather than a collection of continents islands, fragments and slices more correctly represents the geology of this part of the earth," states the Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent report.

According to the report, the edges of the Australia and Zealandia continental crust come remarkably close to each other, only 25 km across the Cato Trough, off the coast of Queensland.

In total, Zealandia covers an area of 4.9 million sqkm, with 94 per cent of the crust submerged underwater, mainly due to widespread Late Cretaceous thinning.

Due to its large size and isolation from Australia, it supports the definition of continent. But there are no territorial implications, with maritime boundaries long agreed upon.

The name Zealandia was first proposed by geophysics Bruce Luyendyk in 1995 as a collective name for New Zealand, the Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau, and Lord Howe Rise.

Photos credit: Geological Society of America