New Zealand is geographically part of the region called Oceania, which includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. It is not considered part of the Australian continent, although it shares close proximity and cultural ties with Australasia. Geologically, New Zealand is situated on a mostly submerged landmass called Zealandia, which is sometimes regarded as a distinct continent due to its elevated continental crust largely underwater except for New Zealand and some nearby islands. However, Zealandia is not officially recognized as a continent in most conventional schemes. Hence, New Zealand is best described as part of the continent-region Oceania, but technically lies on the continental fragment Zealandia.
