Researchers think they have found the real location of Atlantis off the coast of the Canary Islands

Shutterstock_Fer Gregory – Illustration 3D inspiré de l’Atlantide

During one of their research expeditions, a team of Spanish researchers believe they have discovered the source of the legend of Atlantis. A team from the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has located a small underwater mountain near the Canary Islands, off the coast of Lanzarote, where three inactive volcanoes are lined up under the sea.

This myth has been an enthralling topic for over 2,000 years. Illustrated by Plato in one of his Dialogues, the legend of the city of Atlantis is still being studied to this day. Dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology, this futuristic city was, according to legend, swallowed up by the waves along with all its inhabitants. While many enthusiasts still scour seabeds to try and find the slightest trace of this ancient civilisation, scientists have been looking into the question to understand what natural phenomenon could have inspired the myth.

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An archipelago of underwater islands

While exploring the seabed off the Canary Islands, CSIC geologists made a fascinating discovery. An undersea mountain seems to lie 2 km below the ocean floor... Named Los Atlantes - in reference to the myth - this mountain might have been part of an archipelago of islands more than 30 million years ago. According to scientists, the volcanoes that made up these islands went cold and inactive, causing the lava to solidify and the islands to collapse into the ocean.

At the top of this mountain, Spanish researchers have identified beaches, cliffs and dunes, traces of a past when these lands were close to the surface, particularly during the last Ice Age. Analyses of the volcanic rocks should make it possible to pinpoint the exact moment when these islands were swallowed up, and thus reinforce the idea that Los Atlantes could well be where the myth of Atlantis originally came from.