A 140 million-year-old lost continent beneath Europe and the Alps connection

Time of India

11-05-2025

In a recent discovery that rewrites the history of this planet, a team of scientists led by geologist Douwe van Hinsbergen of Utrecht University, uncovered a vast
lost continent
that has been buried beneath Southern
Europe
for nearly 140 million years.
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Known as
Greater Adria
, this ancient landmass was once the size of present day Greenland as part of a vast ancient supercontinent.
The team behind the discovery spent over a decade reconstructing the movements of
tectonic plates
through advanced geological software and seismic data to uncover this forgotten continent and trace its journey over millions of years.
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Published in the journal Gondwana Research, the findings reveal how Greater Adria broke away from North Africa around 200 million years ago and began drifting toward what is now Southern Europe.
But rather than crashing above the surface, much of Greater Adria slipped beneath. Over time, much of the continent was slowly dragged beneath the surface of Europe in a process known as 'subduction.'
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Parts of it were scraped off and compressed, eventually becoming the building blocks of the Alps, the Apennines, and the rugged mountains of Greece and Turkey.
According to van Hinsbergen, 'Everything is curved, broken and stacked,' describing the complex tectonic mess of the Mediterranean where they found the continent.
He also said,' Forget Atlantis. Without realizing it, vast numbers of tourists spend their holiday each year on the lost continent of Greater Adria.'
Hikers in the Alps may not know it, but they're walking on a sunken world that vanished 140 million years ago.
The seismic evidence also supports the existence of Greater Adria, as researchers have even traced pieces of the submerged continent as deep as 1,500 kilometers beneath the
Earth
's surface.
These buried slabs offer clues not just to the past, but also to the future.
By studying how landmasses like Greater Adria were consumed by the Earth, scientists hope to better understand earthquakes, volcanic activity, and the forces that shape the
Mediterranean region
today.
This discovery underscores that much of Earth's history remains untouched, with hidden mysteries still shaping our planet.