There’s a Hidden Continent Lurking Beneath Europe

How did we lose an entire continent? Scientists have spent nearly 10 years to figure out the history of the lost continent they’re calling Greater Adria.

So it turns out, Greater Adria is not truly gone...it’s lurking underneath southern Europe.

Roughly 240 million years ago, this Greenland-sized land mass was part of the Gondwana supercontinent, wedged in with its North African and European counterparts.

Then, 20 million years later, the continent decided to make a break for it and started separating from Africa, and in another 40 million years Greater Adria became a truly independent continent.

On its journey toward self discovery, floating about on the Earth’s surface thanks to continental drift, Greater Adria encountered what is now southern Europe.

Greater Adria shattered into pieces in response and was sucked under its opposing continental plate, where it got officially ‘"lost" in Earth’s syrupy mantle. But its top layer got scraped off and shoved up, instead of down, forming part of the Apennine mountains in central Italy.

Colliding plates are a messy and chaotic business, and these relics of a lost continent, mostly chunks of limestone, are sprinkled all over the Mediterranean meaning the continental remnants are spread out across borders.

Geoscience agencies tend to have developed their own logic and ways of talking about these kinds of geological processes, so piecing all of it together to form a whole picture was challenging in ways even beyond the science.

Find out more about Greater Adria’s journey to independence and how the continent came to be on this episode of Elements.

#Earth #Discovery #Exploration #Geology #Elements #Seeker #Science

The Mystifying Structures Hidden Within Earth’s Mantle

Read More:
Geologists uncover history of lost continent buried beneath Europe
"The only visible remnants of the continent—known as Greater Adria—are limestones and other rocks found in the mountain ranges of southern Europe. Scientists believe these rocks started out as marine sediments and were later scraped off the landmass’s surface and lifted up through the collision of tectonic plates."

Lost continent revealed in new reconstruction of geologic history
"These unsullied relics of Greater Adria can be found today in the heel of Italy’s boot, scattered from Venice to Turin, and in Croatia’s Istria region—which means you can take a vacation on the splinters of a lost continent."

Scientists Recreate What Happened to an Ancient Continent Shoved Beneath Europe
"In that destruction, it’s likely that a fraction of the ancient formation was scraped off — and today those scraps exist as rocks found in places like Turin, Italy, and Croatia’s Istria region."

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[OPS-Clothing]

As Europeans I announce we just colonised it

[TDrudley]

I feel like Seeker and other similar youtube channels should have sources linked in the descriptions, it would help us laymen to show facts and give sources for it.

[duchi]

*This is what happens*
When Scrat from Ice Age is toying with Earth again

[onursarikaya]

Can someone please pick up the phone in the background

[jackscheiber]

This is where ice age: dawn of the dinosaurs took place

[mr.personhumanson]

I once discovered a hidden forest under my couch, but it turns out it was just a bigmac somebody left there a long time ago

[DaMustacheGamer]

All Christopher Columbus had to do was to dig down so us Americans would evolve into bat people smh

[reikenzan]

Imagine if this submerged continent has traces of a bygone advanced civilization.

[Master_Therion]

Wait, so you're saying that one part of Europe tried to rise above and supplant an entire continent?
Yup, that's pretty much European history.

[jonesreviews]

1:55 I've always wondered why i would find fossils of coral at 2000 feet above see level in southern Indiana

[JamieBettison]

This is truly incredible! Thanks for reporting it!

[Dr_Hax]

Europe: This isn't even my final form

[francoislachance]

Maren Hunsberger is geeky cool! Love her enthusiasm when narrating her videos.

[zikrim]

Wow europe takes colonialism to whole new level

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Now this is something I never knew until now

You learn something new from Seeker everyday

[GPNa]

Every other continent is classified based on geography but Europe wants to consider itself a different continent from Asia because of culture? Lmfao

[heartlest]

Greater Adria be yelling at Europe like: "Ouch, get off me!"

[vonte]

Most interesting class in college has to be computer science an geology 🤓

[Pravinkumar-zvww]

When we said there was a continent mentioned in ancient texts everyone called it an hoax now it's cool for people to accept it's in West

[stevenmabee]

Sweet looking mountain rising graphic👍