Geography of New Caledonia point is Mont Panié at elevation. The total area of New Caledonia is , of those being land. A territorial dispute exists with regard to the uninhabited Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are claimed by both France (as part of New Caledonia) and Vanuatu. The New Caledonian archipelago is a microcontinental island chain which originated as a fragment of Zealandia, a nearly submerged continent or microcontinent which was part of the southern supercontinent of Gondwana during the time of the dinosaurs. The Grande Terre group of New Caledonia, with Mont Panié at as its highest point, is the most elevated
Biodiversity of New Caledonia Winteraceae, Myrtaceae, southern sassafras (Atherospermataceae), conifers of Araucariaceae, Podocarpaceae, and Cupressaceae, and tree ferns. New Caledonia comprises fragments of the continental crust of Gondwana, dating to over one hundred million years ago (MYA), as well as volcanic material. The fragments apparently split from the Indo-Australian tectonic plate. Prevailing opinion holds that the archipelago represents the non-submerged regions of the continental fragment known as Zealandia. Zealandia broke away from the Australian part of Gondwana some 80-90 MYA. The separation of New Caledonia from mainland contact must have begun some tens of millions of years ago, probably during the Cretaceous period. However,