Chicago (IL) - A Google Ocean image of an underwater section of the Atlantic ocean at 31 15'15.53N 24 15'30.53W is drawing wide attention as a possible location of the lost city of Atlantis. The location is about 700 miles off the coasts of Morocco and Portugal and fits in very nicely with the whereabouts of Atlantis, as described by Plato.



Image taken from Google Ocean, a feature of Google Earth -- an interactive 3D view of the globe as seen from space. Google Earth allows viewers to go on virtual aerial tours of many famous places on Earth. I can personally speak from experience that such a tool is an excellent few hours spent with the family. "Oh, daddy, remember when we went there?"

The sharp outlines and uniform wall-like structures seen in the image are believed by many to be completely unnatural and the result of manmade activity and his structures. What can be seen clearly are several nearly straight lines, near perfect rectangles and what may be roads extending out toward dry land. The structure is currently under several thousand feet of water and was only recently made available thanks to the Ocean extension of Google Earth.

The aeronautical engineer who originally discovered the site has identified a "perfect rectangle" in the shot, noting also that the grid lines look like an aerial map with roads extending out.

According to the article, "Plato described [Atlantis] as an island 'larger than Libya and Asia put together' in front of the Pillars of Hercules -- the Straits of Gibraltar. He said Atlantis was a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural beauty destroyed by earthquakes and floods 9,000 years earlier."

Some other interesting finds with Google Earth have included a previously unidentified forest where researchers found several new species of butterflies, snakes and plants. In addition, Google's Street View cars have captured some unexpected images -- like this recent deer collision, as well as what could possible be a new trend -- flashing the Google Street View car as it drives by. Aerial images taken from high orbiting Google Earth satellites have also captured some lower resolution images of nude sunbathers -- and these folks were in their own fenced in back yards. Police agencies have also used Google Maps to find hidden drug plantations visible only from the air.

See The Daily Telegraph.co.uk.

---

UPDATED:  February 23, 2009 - 6:32am CST
I hate to shatter everybody's hopes, but this story has been debunked by Google. According to a follow-up article on The Daily Telegraph.co.uk, a Google spokeswoman said, "What users are seeing is an artefact of the data collection process. Sea floor terrain data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor. The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact that there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world's oceans."

A blow to Atlantis searchers, the lines are reportedly just erroneous data from the paths boats took while mapping the sea bottom.

Sorry, guys. Atlantis continues to be a myth. :) Or does it?

No; that is roughly the area of Wales. It can't be...

Feb 23, 2009 01:55     

No; that is roughly the area of Wales. It can't be Atlantis unless a block is several miles wide... It's actually an artifact of the sonar used by the US navy. Look it up.
No report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Google says it's not Atlantis.

Feb 23, 2009 01:56     

The lines are remnants of the data collection paths that the sonar devices used by the ships to map the oceans bottom use. A spokesperson from Google came out and explained that the lines are simply an area where the mapping paths were more pronounce...
Babyfacemagee report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Amazing! but cannot be a city

Feb 23, 2009 02:14     

Amazing, but I doubt it is a city. The area that looks like a city is over 200 miles x 200 miles. No city could be that big. The 'streets' should have been less than a mile apart, 'city blocks' are 10 miles each. Why not get a sample from the ground, like Titanic?
SJP report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Why would anyone think that a bunch of lines are su...

Feb 23, 2009 02:20     

Why would anyone think that a bunch of lines are supposed to be what's left of atlantis? I probably would have gone for "Google Ocean watchers may have found underwater Nazca Lines", though not as many people know about the Nazca Lines. [The person who originally discovered it suggested it could be Atlantis due to its eastward-position relative to the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. -Editor]
Glenn report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

ATLANTIS

Feb 23, 2009 02:32     

Wow ! If this is genuine,I am truely impressed,and will change history as we have learnt it. If it's a fake that some A--h---e has superimposed on the grid,they should be tarred and feathered.
Colin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Atlantis

Feb 23, 2009 02:43     

How is this visual made? [Surface ships use sonar to bounce off the ocean's bottom, and the reflected sound gives topographical data which is later compiled. -Editor]
Richard report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

not a city

Feb 23, 2009 02:48     

Just take one look at the picture: the eye altitude is 286 km. Would you see an ancient city from 286 km up? The size of the rectangle in the picture is 131 x 166 km. Modern New York is (very roughly) 30 km across. Not an ancient city, for sure. [Atlantis was described as a huge island. The area being seen could be large artifacts on the island, such as water ways, roads, wall structures, or any number of other things. -Editor]

anonymous report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This was dismissed last Friday by Google as simple ...

Feb 23, 2009 03:37     

This was dismissed last Friday by Google as simple sonar data collected from boats.
Old news report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This story has been dismissed by Google. What is th...

Feb 23, 2009 04:54     

This story has been dismissed by Google. What is the point of your post? seriously?
Sam report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Already denied by Google as an artefact of mapping ...

Feb 23, 2009 05:34     

Already denied by Google as an artefact of mapping techniques. Please change that headline.
meandmyself report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Atlantis? I think I see my house :)...

Feb 23, 2009 05:34     

Atlantis? I think I see my house :)
Obtanium report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wow...?...

Feb 23, 2009 05:42     

Wow...?
Miranda report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sorry to harm your parade....

Feb 23, 2009 05:43     

Google has released a statement saying those lines are a result of the image gathering process... http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Lost_City_of_Atlantis_Not_Found_on_Google_Earth/551-99235-643.html
Brad Klaver report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

WOW

Feb 23, 2009 05:49     

hope you find Nemo in there too !!! Where's Waldo? :)
Ayman report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This has been proved fake by Google employees, and ...

Feb 23, 2009 06:22     

This has been proved fake by Google employees, and explained by their mapping techniques. [Google has provided an explanation ... whether or not their statement is scientific or political is another story. :) -Rick]
John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Possible sonar distortion shown due to bad image st...

Feb 23, 2009 06:24     

Possible sonar distortion shown due to bad image stitching. Depending on where the images come from there is a strong chance that it is distortion from the sonar at its outer edges due to high rez surveying. Possibly by a corporation or government interested in that area. Whoever compiled the images may not have done a good job at stitching the images. This is a common occurrence with maps such as this. I have seen many DTEDs with this and when visiting the location there was nothing there. Just bad imagery. [Could be anything. Without us actually going out there and conducting the tests ourselves with equipment that's been certified, we are relying upon reports by so many intermediaries. -Editor]

Brand_X report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This story has been refuted by Google. They explai...

Feb 23, 2009 06:32     

This story has been refuted by Google. They explained that these patterns are due to the way in which the measurements were taken and to the combination of different map sets.
MikeNYC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Google has already responded to this, indicating th...

Feb 23, 2009 06:33     

Google has already responded to this, indicating that the lines are merely a result of merging data from various sources. Even if you don't believe them (and I'm not sure why you wouldn't) [The argument is this: One would think that if what you (and Google) suggest is true, they would be everywhere in the ocean. -Editor] it should be reported in a story like this.
bobbyfiend report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Expected more from a educated person.... Did he RE...

Feb 23, 2009 06:43     

Expected more from a educated person.... Did he REALLY think that he made a discovery using Google maps that all the other people actually doing research on Atlantis didn't find? Does he think Google has under sea robots mapping the ocean floor? Exactly where does he think Google GOT the mapping information? Armchair wannabe explorers using google acting like they found something new. Whatever. Your reference to the new species is misleading - Google didn't discover anything new. It simply provided a sat view to some people that didn't have access to it. [It allowed the scientists to locate an area that was not otherwise identified for research, resulting in the new species finds. -Editor] Cool use of some esoteric data? Yes. Googling discovering something new? Nope.

Nick H report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

There's what seems like a huge volcanic cone a bit ...

Feb 23, 2009 06:56     

There's what seems like a huge volcanic cone a bit to the north of that - look up the island of Sao Miguel. It's the best bet so far - right beyond the pillars of Hercules too.
mack_sim report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sounds like a government coverup. If I held the ke...

Feb 23, 2009 07:38     

Sounds like a government coverup. If I held the key to all those riches I would say it was a fake too!!
Unsure report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

how do you know?

Feb 23, 2009 08:38     

that google isnt just lying? duh.
sheikhbake report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

It was a great discovery...

Feb 23, 2009 09:12     

Well it was pretty cool to read it! It was even in Google News. What a coincidence that it was in front of Straits of Gibraltar. I have to made sure it was April Fools day.
qwarto report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

question

Feb 23, 2009 09:18     

I understand the idea of the collection methods causing those patterns. But there should be more of them all over the ocean. Are they there?
andrew report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0