Mediterranean sea: Researchers discover lost continent Greater Adria

Researchers have discovered a hidden continent under Mediterranean sea, called Greater Adria. It is reportedly size of Greenland and was discovered when team of researchers were restoring evolution of Mediterranean's complex geology. researchers believe that continent must have broken off from rth Africa region and got buried under area of South Europe about 140 million years ago. According to m, re is a possibility that many people must have stepped on continent without even realising it. continent found at one of most geologically complex areas of world is reportedly located around 1,500 km underneath Europe. 

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Separated from rth Africa 200 million years ago

Author and professor of global tectonics and palaeogeography at Utrecht University, Douwe van Hinsbergen, who is also heading team of researchers, in an interview to a foreign news ncy, used reference of Plato's Atlantis. He was quoted saying, "gorget about Atlantis, Greater Adria might have been visited by tourists several times every year."

He also said most mountain chains that were investigated by m originated from a single continent that was separated from rrn part of Africa 200 million years ago. only part of continent that is still alive is a strip that runs from Turin through Adriatic Sea towards heel of boot that forms Italy. name Greater Adria is given to lost continent because area where it was found is popularly kwn as Adria by geologists.

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Parts of Greater Adria are still visible

geologists of Mediterranean region are of a distinct understanding of plate tectonics, which is responsible for formation of oceans and continents. However, in rest of world, ory followed is different. Most parts of Greater Adria was underwater, shielded by shallow seas, coral reefs and sediments. se sediments had set up rocks which scraped off like barnacles when continent was forced under Sourn Europe. rocks that were scrapped later on were formed into mountain ranges found in regions of Alps, Apennines, Balkans, Greece and Turkey.

While speaking to a news ncy, Van Hinsbergen said that Greater Adria might have formed many smaller continental blocks as well that are w parts of Romania, rth Turkey or Armenia. Some portion of Greater Adria can be seen in mountain ranges. rest of it that was about 100 km thick dived under earth's mantle. 

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