The Challenger Plateau is a large submarine plateau west of New Zealand and south of the Lord Howe Rise. It has an approximate diameter of 500km (300miles) and an area of about 280000km2. The water depth over the plateau varies between 500m (1,600feet) to 1500m (4,900feet) and is covered by up to 3500m (11,500feet) of sedimentary rocks of Upper Cretaceous to recent in age.[1] The plateau originated in the Gondwanan breakup and is one of the five major submerged parts of Zealandia, a largely submerged continent.