There occurred violent earthquakes and a night of rain, and the island of Atlantis...was sunk beneath the sea.
Platos account of the mythical continent Atlantisa brilliant civilization that vanished in a single day and nighthas fascinated men and women for centuries. The Greek philosopher described Atlantis as a fortified hill or acropolis surrounded by alternate rings of sea and land, a formation characteristic of a partly submerged volcanic crater. Through the ages, writers have placed the mysterious continent in such diverse locations as Africa, the Baltic Sea, the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Caucasus Mountains, the Andes, Sri Lanka, and the Caribbean.
For all its appeal, however, Atlantis eludes us. Volcanoes and earthquakes sometimes cause land to sink into the sea, but positive scientific evidence for an entire lost continent is lacking.
Basis in Fact?
There has been speculation that a volcanic explosion on the island of Thera in the Aegean Sea, about 3,400 years ago, might have been the historical core around which later generations wrapped the legend of Atlantis.
Others locate Atlantis near the Bahamas, where large stone blocks litter the seafloor. These blocks, observers believed, might have formed roads in Atlantis. The National Geographic Society supported an investigation of several sites off North and South Bimini in 1971. The team was headed by Dr. Mahlon M. Ball of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami. Dr. Balls report indicates that the blocks are natural geologic formations marking the position of a former shoreline thousands of years ago.
There are other legendary lost continentsMu and Lemuria. James Churchward, a British traveler, claimed to have deciphered ancient symbols describing Mu as a vast Pacific continent that disappeared into the sea. Another theory centers on a land bridge connecting Africa, Madagascar and the East Indies. Such a formation, the hypothesis goes, could explain why lemurs live only in Madagascarhence the name Lemuria.