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Scientists Discovered a Continent That Vanished 115 Million Years Ago
The discovery of Homo Luzonensis introduced an unexpected human relative previously unknown to science.
Below the oceans of our planet lies a continent that sank 115 million years ago. Scientists have been interested in Argoland for years because this lost land can tell a lot about the existing world and the development of our planet.
By studying Argoland, researchers hope to uncover valuable information about the processes that shaped our current world. The movements of tectonic plates, the formation and breakup of supercontinents like Pangaea, and the environmental changes that have occurred over millions of years.
The Discovery of Argoland
For many years, geologists speculated that a sizable chunk of land was absent from geography’s maps. This landmass, now known as Argoland, was long thought to have disappeared millions of years ago. This led scientists to conclude that it might be residing on the ocean floor.
To solve this mystery, a group of Dutch scientists devoted seven years of their work to it. It was a true success when they found vestiges of Argoland among the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Argoland is not a small continent and once occupied a landmass that is as big as the entire United States of America.
These fragments of this lost continent can be seen in countries such as Myanmar and Indonesia today. These fragments appeared to be much older than the time when Argoland supposedly separated from Australia, further complicating the matter.
Originally, people assumed that Argoland disappeared because of subduction, in which one tectonic plate slides under another. The truth was far from the above-mentioned assumptions made by some people.
Argoland did not sink into the ocean but divided into smaller pieces known as Microcontinents. These microcontinents later broke off from Australia and drifted their way towards Southeast Asia.
It also assists scientists in explaining how continents shift and transform. Similar to a huge jigsaw, with each piece providing additional information about our planet’s past…
