A large submerged mountain with three inactive volcanoes that sank into the ocean millions of years ago off the coast of Lanzarote may have inspired the legend of Atlantis.
Researchers in Spain have discovered these mountains that were submerged in the ocean millions of years ago, some of which still retain beach features.
Close-up view of Los Atlantes peak, a submerged mountain with three inactive volcanoes. (Photo: IGME-CSIC).
“This could be the origin of the Atlantis legend,” Luis Somoza, head of the offshore volcanic activity research project in the Canary Islands, shared.
The research team found islands on a submerged mountain, or underwater mountain, with three currently inactive volcanoes, measuring approximately 50 km in diameter. The base of the mountain lies about 2.3 km below the ocean surface.
Scientists named the newly discovered underwater mountain Los Atlantes after the legendary civilization of Plato, which the gods submerged into the ocean as a punishment for the people’s immorality.
“They were islands in the past and they have sunk; they are still sinking, just as the legend of Atlantis recounts,” Somoza, a geologist from the Spanish Geological and Mining Institute (IGME-CSIC), stated.
The scientists discovered Los Atlantes while exploring the seabed off the eastern coast of Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) at depths ranging from 100 to 2,500 m. This dive is part of the IGME-CSIC Atlantis project, aimed at gaining a better understanding of underwater volcanic and hydrothermal activity in the area.
Los Atlantes may have been a series of islands during the Eocene epoch (56 to 34 million years ago). When the volcanic activity ceased, the lava solidified and became denser, causing the islands to sink into the ocean. However, some features of these lost islands still remain.
The research team will now analyze samples collected from Los Atlantes to date the volcanic rocks and determine when the islands began to sink, Somoza noted. They also plan to return to the submerged volcanoes of the Canary Islands for an expedition next year.
