The Chatham Islands |
 Introduction: Heather and I went to the Chatham Islands on a tour organised and led by Hamish Campbell, a well-known New Zealand geologist. He’s an expert on the geology of the islands, and – among other things – a co-author of In Search of Ancient New Zealand. I took this photograph of Hamish lecturing in front of two maps – a bathymetric map and a tectonic map – of Zealandia, which Hamish Campbell and ten other authors have recently argued in an article in GSA Today is “the seventh largest geological continent”, and that it’s also “the youngest, thinnest, and most submerged” continent. The continent of Zealandia includes New Caledonia; the North, South, and sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand; the Chatham Rise; and the Chatham Islands. |