Underwater Anomalies *

Underwater Anomalies claimed as Atlantis related have been ‘identified’ in recent years on various Google Earth images. The one that received the most widespread attention was situated in the Atlantic west of the Canaries. Bernie Bamford, a British aeronautical engineer, got widespread media coverage in 2009 with this ‘new’ discovery. However, it is claimed that these features were discovered even earlier by Larkin & Cynthia Jones^(h).

The location in question purports to show a gridlike street system. However, the scale involved would suggest ‘streets’ half a mile wide, which even for Atlanteans would have been rather unlikely. Google updated its data with a technical explanation for the anomaly^(b)(k). However, Michael Jaye is unwilling to accept Google’s response and has described the gridlike feature to have been the Plain of Atlantis^(f). A comparable site^(c) near Puerto Rico has been highlighted by Deb Johnson, which can probably be explained similarly.

Bernhard Beier wrote an extensive article for Atlantisforschung on the evolution of the controversy surrounding Bamford’s claim and concluded with “In this case, the Atlantis reference was created solely by the media, which acted completely independently of competence – and thus created another, small ‘Atlantis myth’ in the world.”^(j)

A slightly different type of image has been spotted in lakes in the Peruvian  Andes^(d) as well as Manzanillo Bay in the Dominican Republic^(e). These images of shallower waters show a range of rectangular shapes that stop dead where they meet the shore with no continuation on land. Once again I suspect flawed processing of the scanning data.

Apart from the fact that all of the above lack any of the circular features so vividly described by Plato. It is obvious that they cannot all be Atlantis and in all probability none are. No effort has been made to match any of these anomalous images with the topographical details provided by Plato!

May 2022 saw more nonsense of this ilk in the tabloids, with headlines proclaiming the discovery of a ‘Yellow Brick Road to Atlantis’, north of Hawaii in the Pacific. In fact, the ‘road’ is a recognised volcanic feature and has never been claimed as anything else by its discoverers⁽ⁱ⁾.

In a similar manner, it was reported in 2011 that divers on the coast of the Greek island of Zakynthos initially thought that they had discovered the remains of a lost port city, when they found  “some very unusual underwater formations came into view, including some strange pillars, walkways and even what appeared to be courtyards. Writing in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, a team of environmental researchers has now revealed that these peculiar structures are not actually archaeological remains at all.

 After being carefully examined by archaeologists, geologists and professional divers from both Greece and the United Kingdom, it was clear that the disk and doughnut-shaped columnar features were a type of mineralization feature. They were being generated by the escape of chemicals, mainly methane, emerging from hydrocarbon-rich layers hiding below a semi-ruptured fault.

 Microbes lurking in the sediment there appeared to be using the carbon in the methane as a source of energy. As they oxidized the methane, these bacteria and archaea were inadvertently changing the chemistry of the sediment they were living in to form a natural cement. To geologists, this is known as ‘concretion,’ and it can result in a number of new rock formations.” ^(l)

^(a) See: https://web.archive.org/web/20160621013352/https://revoseek.com/technology/upgrade-google-earth-disappears-atlantis/

^(b) https://www.livescience.com/18308-google-earth-update-erases-atlantis.html

^(c) https://www.atlantismystery.com/Atlantis.jpg (offline)

^(d) https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_underground23.htm

^(e) https://manzanillodigital.blogspot.com/2009/12/lo-que-dice-fianchy-torres-sobre.html

^(f) The Explorers Club – Events – NYC – Public Lecture Series feat. Michael Jaye (archive.org)

^(g) https://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2009/02/atlantis-not-found-with-google-earth.html

^(h) Atlantis – Just Another Sea Floor Anomaly? – YouTube 

⁽ⁱ⁾ Scientists Find a ‘Yellow Brick Road’ in a Never-Before-Seen Spot of The Pacific Ocean : ScienceAlert *

^(j) Googleatlantis – The alleged “localization” of Bernie Bamford – Atlantisforschung.de (atlantisforschung-de.translate.goog) 

^(k) Atlantis revealed at last… or just a load of old Googles? | Daily Mail Online

^(l) https://www.iflscience.com/submerged-greek-lost-city-sculpted-microbial-life-36128