The Earth's hidden eighth continent is no longer lost.

We've finally mapped all of Zealandia.

It’s almost completely underwater, but Zealandia has nearly 2 million square miles of landmass (for comparison, Australia has 2.9 million).

• Zealandia, considered a candidate for the Earth’s eighth continent, was mostly lost to the sea.
• Geologists say they’ve now mapped the entire nearly two million square miles of the underwater land mass.
• The research team used rock samples from the seabed to analyze and date the undersea geology of North Zealandia, the final piece of the Zealandia puzzle.

Zealandia had so much promise as the eighth continent on Earth. Well, it did—until about 95 percent of the mass sunk under the ocean.

While the majority of Zealandia may never host inhabitants—at least, not land-based ones—the would-be continent is now no longer simply lost. Researchers recently finished mapping out the northern two-thirds of Zealandia, wrapping up the documentation of the nearly two million square miles of the submerged land mass.

Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.