BUT...
Some people claim the city of Atlantis was on Thera, today called Santorini in the eastern Mediterranean
but there is no rectangular plain
on Thera, so they say the rectangular plain was on Crete if you divide the dimensions by 10.
The contour map below shows that there is no perfectly level rectangular plain on Crete either,
and that even when the dimensions are divided by 10, it would still be too large to fit on Crete.....
Drawing of how Atlantis supposedly was Thera.
It is not located on a plain as Plato describes, but in the middle of the sea.
Satellite image showing the island of Thera (Santorini) and the island of Crete.
Relief map of Crete shows no rectangular plain
Enlargement of map shows there is no "smooth and level" plain on Crete.
Even when the dimensions are divided by 10, the plain still does not fit Crete...
The Plain of Messara is hardly the plain Plato described. Even when divided by 10 it does not form a natural smooth and level rectangle anywhere near the correct dimensions while on the west side it is encroached by the Psiloritis Massif and on the east side it is encroached by the Lassithi Massif.
Above, The true size of the plain, in the dimensions Plato gave, compared to Crete and Cyprus.
Dividing Plato's dimensions by 10 would mean the stade was only 60ft in length but even a plain of 3,000 x 2,000 stades of 60ft does not exist on Crete...
Ulf Richter (2005) wrote an excellent paper on Atlantis which he presented to the 2005 Milos conference speculating that the stade used in Atlantis might have been an Egyptian unit called a "khet" of 172 feet (52.4 metres) which was 100 Egyptian Royal cubits. In any event, althought the stade may have been a smaller unit than the Greek stade, at the same time any proposed Atlantis region should have a plain which is readily identifiable as being rectangular in nature, enclosed by mountains and if anyone claims a particular area with particular dimensions then that's pretty easy to check using the mapping available today......
CYPRUS
The plain around the Guadalquivir river, Spain.
above, graphic published by Georgeos Díaz-Montexano claiming that the smooth
and level rectangular plain of 3,000 x 2,000 stades enclosed by mountains can be found in the region
of the Guadalquivir river, Spain. It shows a length of 3,000 stades running the length of the valley of the Guadalquivir river.
above, it is very hard to find a rectangular plain as described above in the Guadalquivir region. Most people would agree it was triangular if anything, as this map shows...
Above, relief map published by Bartholomews "Atlas of the World", showing the
region of the Guadalquivir River, Spain. None of these maps show anything remotely approximating the
level, rectangular plain in the proportion
of 3,000 x 2,000 stades as claimed by Georgeos Díaz-Montexano.
above, this old map has the advantage of showing very well the relief and contours.
On it we can clearly see the triangular nature of the Guadalquivir plain running from Cadiz to the Algarve and passing
Seville and Cordoba and I have marked on it
the correct size a plain of 3,000 x 2,000 Greek stades would occupy. The actual dimensions quoted by Plato if correct would represent an immense area......
A program "Finding Atlantis" broadcast by the National Geographic Channel in March 2011
featured a prof Richard Freund leading a team of investigators and putting forward the proposal
that Atlantis was to be found in the Doñana Marsh and also considered the possiblity that the same site may have been Tartessos or Tarshish of the Bible..
"Just like Atlantis, Ireland is 300 miles long, 200 miles wide, and widest across the middle. They both
have a central plain surrounded by mountains.
I've looked at geographical data from the rest of the world and of the 50 largest islands there is
only one that has a plain in the middle -- Ireland."
For a geographer to state that Ireland measures 300 x 200 nautical miles is
somewhat off track as the above map shows,
the map shows the size of the plain would have been even larger than the entire island of
Ireland and the plain itself was supposedly enclosed by mountains so the actual land area must have
been considerably larger than just the area of the plain!
Sicily
Sardinia
Above left, enlargement showing the Campidano plain on
Sardinia and right, its location can be seen in the south-west corner of Sardinia.
This has also been claimed as the Plain of Atlantis yet it measures only
55 nautical miles by about 10 nautical miles (100km x 20km)
making it 550 stades by 100 stades instead of 3,000 stades by 2,000 stades
and whereas
Plato's plain was in the ratio of 3:2 this tiny
plain is more of a corridor in the ratio of 5:1.
Like Sicily and most other islands
in the Mediterranean, it has little correspondence
to the actual geographic description that Plato gave
apart from being mountainous and having hot and cold springs -
even Orichalcum which Plato called "the most precious of
the metals then known"
in the Sardinian theory has been converted into volcanic glass called Obsidian.
The Pillars of Hercules become relocated in the Straits of Messina, this small
island is hardly the size of "Libya and Asia combined", neither is it in the
Atlantic Ocean, it is not sunken or destroyed by earthquakes and there
is no evidence of any sunken island with concentric rings - in short,
along with virtually all the Mediterranean islands, it
is virtually the opposite of the island described by Plato.
Richat Structure, Mauretania
There is not a rectangular plain in the region of the Richat Structure, however as a natural circular feature we can look at what Wikipedia has to say about it, particularly taking note of the immense size, way beyond anything a bronze age city could support....
"The Richat Structure is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert of Mauritania near Ouadane. It has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it forms a conspicuous bull's-eye in the otherwise rather featureless expanse of the desert. The structure, which has a diameter of approx 50 kilometres (31 mi) and is located 400–450 metres (1,310–1,480 ft) above sea level, has become a landmark for space shuttle crews.
Initially interpreted as a meteorite impact structure because of its high degree of circularity, it is now thought to be a symmetrical uplift (circular anticline or dome) that has been laid bare by erosion. Paleozoic quartzites form the resistant beds outlining the structure. The lack of shock metamorphism at the site further backs the latter claim."
Algeria According to the theory of Michael Huebner,
the circular city and the plain of Atlantis are to be found in Morrocco.
Azores.
Atlantic Ocean.
Antarctica.
Greenland.
America.
Herodotus Book 1, para 181 tell us that the Tower in Babylon measured "a furlong in length and breadth."
That should have made the Tower 660 feet x 660 feet whereas in reality in modern times it has been quoted as
being 300 feet
on each side,
so there is a precedent for a smaller "stade" of 300 feet or more probably 297 feet
or 330 feet if the Tower were built
in Babylonian units.
Plato: "Now as a result of natural forces, together with the labours of many kings which extended
over many ages, the condition of the plain was this. It was originally a quadrangle, rectilinear
for the most part, and elongated;
In the first place, then, according to the account, the whole region rose sheer out of the sea
to a great height, but the part about the city was all a smooth plain, enclosing it round about,
and being itself encircled by mountains which stretched as far as to the sea; and this plain had
a level surface and was as a whole rectangular in shape, being 3,000 stades long on either side
and 2,000 stades wide at its centre, reckoning upwards from the sea."
translation: R.G.Bury, LOEB Classical library.
Note, the plain measures 2,000 stades wide at its centre, measuring upwards or across from the sea,
not 3,000 stades upwards from the sea as shown by Georgeos Díaz-Montexano and others who similarly claim to
have found the plain, much reduced in size, in various locations.
There again, forgetting Bury's version of "measuring upwards from the sea",
if the dimensions of the plain were the overall
dimensions such as in Jowett's "Across the centre inland it was 2,000 stadia" and it was meant that the width was the width at the
widest point in the general area of the sea, then measuring as
in the above diagram, from the 12,000ft contour on the western
side across the width of the actual plain including the sea gives a width of 2,000
"stades" or half furlongs of 330 feet.
The shape of the rectangular plain is broadly defined by the 13,000ft contour,
here marked in black with level ground shown in light green including the
Salars which are absolutely level and shown speckled white. I have marked the 12,000ft contour in blue
and a perimeter canal would probably have run somewhere between the 12,000ft contour
and the 13,000ft contour although levels are different today due to the sinking in elevation of this region.
It is very noticeable how the overall dimensions of the plain can be defined as 3,000 x 2,000 stades using the
half furlong of 330ft and measuring to the 12,000ft contours, particularly in defining the length of the plain
as the water seems to find a natural boundary today around the 12,000ft contour at the southern edge
of the Salar de Uyuni.
It is easily seen how feasible it would have been to construct a canal following the 12,000ft
contour which would make a circuit of the plain, possibly taking a short cut through Llica or Tres Cruces.
An actual section of wide channel remains at
Estancia Rosa Pata, between the present 12,000ft contour and the lake.
The plain can also be seen
as Lee called it "naturally a long regular rectangle".(118c)
Above left, traditional interpretation of the rectangular plain (published by LOEB Classical library) with location
of the ringed island in its centre, next to the sea.
Above right, Artists impression for comparison to the LOEB drawing
showing location of the ringed island at Pampa Aullagas in the correct position. In practice the perimeter canal would
have had to follow the contours around the plain allowing for volcanic outcrops (seen in above maps) as it says in the Jowett translation
"winding its way around the plain". See preceeding topographical map for actual topography.
Plato said the island metropolis with the concentric rings of land was
"near the plain, over against its centre, at a distance of about fifty stades, there stood a mountain that
was low on all sides" (translation R.G. Bury) and also
that it was "50 stades from the sea" and that is where we find the ruined island at Pampa Aullagas, destroyed by earthquakes, on the
level Altiplano, fifty stades from the inland sea called "Poopo Sea" or Lake Poopo and the only proposed Atlantis
site in the world which actually has concentric rings of land and alternating channels.
It should be noted that the centre of the site, instead of being a volcanic island or mountain, is a lake,
it is also a feature on an alluvial plain and appears to be what one would call a "double ox bow"
formation of the river. This region of the Beni, in common with most flat regions with meandering rivers
such as the Amazon, has thousands of oxbow bends on rivers. This one is unusual in that it has one formation inside the other one and also the lake in the centre..
Above, map of the Beni area, the relief topography on this particular map
does not show a rectangular plain but rather one which extends through into the Llanos de Guarayos at the south-east.
As defined by
David Antelo it is bounded by natural rivers rather than defined by mountains or man-made canals,
in this case the northern boundary is said to be the rio Guapore and the western boundary
is said to be the rio Madre de Dios which I have shown by the superimposed rectangle
showing a plain of 3,000 x 2000 Greek stades. In Plato's version, the perimeter canal
collected the streams from the mountains, made a circuit around the plain and discharged the waters
into the sea, while channels 100ft wide were supposedly dug across the plain to discharge
into the seaward canal. The Beni plain is crossed by natural rivers of immense size, such
as the Madre de Dios, the rio Beni and the rio Mamore and is partly submerged in the wet season due to
the ingression of waters from the Amazon.
Above, in the wet season, vasts tracts of Amazonia and the Beni region of Bolivia
become submerged by floodwaters. The peoples of the Beni flood plains, for example,
lived on artificial mounds and built long straight causeways and canals for transportation,
they also created great numbers of huge artificial ponds probably used for the capture or storage of fish stocks and are noted for an "hydraulic" or "aquatic" culture.
There are many archeological sites which have been little explored although
dating so far suggests a later period than that of Atlantis. In the above graphic,
the attraction of the Beni region can be seen in that it is a flooded plain,
but not flooded as deeply as Amazonia and in this view, does show as a large rectangle and is of
the correct size of 3,000 x 2000 stades. Some researchers think cultures may have begun here which later moved to the
Altiplano whilst others think they began on the Altiplano and later moved to the Beni.
Sir Francis Bacon in his "New Atlantis"
of 1627 says that after the loss of the island of Atlantis due to a great flood and the original plain being cut off due to
persistent water levels, the
inhabitants descended to lower levels, thus suggesting that they moved from the
higher Altiplano to the Amazonic regions.
Argentina.
A recent theory by Doug Fisher claims that the region known
as Entre Rios (between rivers) bordering Argentina and Uruguay was the rectangular plain of Atlantis. Doug's figures are in Statute Miles.
A statue mile is 5280 feet while a geographic or nautical mile is 6076.824 feet. If Plato's stades were meant to
be Greek stades, then they would be
1/10th of a geographic mile.
Above, map showing the region between the rios Paraguay and the rio Parana. Anyone can check the scale and find
that it does not measure the 3,000 stades x 2,000 stades. It is easy to make a scale bar because
5 degrees of latitude are 300 geographic miles or 3,000 Greek stades. We can easily measure the enclosed area and
find that between the northern branch of the rio Parana and the entrance to the river system
in the south-east corner is more like 4,000 Greek stades, and we also find that the width of the area
at its narowest point
is 900 stades while at its widest point about 1400 Greek stades. So it comes nowhere close to Plato's statement
that it in the centre, it was "2,000 stades measuring upwards from the sea" (Bury), or
Jowett's "Across the centre inland it was 2,000 stadia".
Besides, it does not match Plato's description because it was the plain which was "naturally" quadrangular,
and what it lacked of this shape they made right by a ditch or canal dug round about it. It does not say that
it was enclosed or formed by natural rivers. Additionally the whole region "rose sheer out of
the sea to a great height"
and the plain was "enclosed by mountains" which the land between the rivers is not, - here is what Plato says
(Critias 118c) "the part about the city was all a smooth plain, enclosing it round about, and being itself
encircled by mountains which stretched as far as to the sea; and this plain had a level surface
and was as a whole rectangualar in shape,
being 3,000 stades long on either side and 2,000 stades wide at its centre, reckoning upwards form the sea".
According to Doug's calculations, "Mesopotamia forms a slightly leaner rectangle with approximate
dimensions of 1,550 x 3,700 stadia (180 miles x 425 miles) compared to Atlantis' 2,000 x 3,000 stadia
(230 miles x 345 miles). However, this discrepancy can easily be attributed to the measurements having
been rounded to the nearest thousand." But Plato clearly states that it is 2,000 stades wide at it
centre and 3,000 stades long on either side, while if we "round up" 3,700 stades to the nearest
round number it would be 4,000 stades....
There is an even vaster section of
open plain to the west in the Chaco. Furthermore the supposed site of the city on Doug's map is a river delta composed
of alluvial material while the capital city of Atlantis was a mountain made of rock - it was
in a volcanic region because it had natural springs of hot and cold water
and it was also composed of alternating
rings of rock and water - the rocks being of red, black and white colours and the water channels supposedly dug out
of the rock by the god himself to make it impassable to man
- none of which can be detected at Doug's city site at the river entrances
on satellite imagery ... which is not circular but violin shaped! Again, the site of the city was in the centre of the plain
which "enclosed it round about", and an island at the entrance to the rios Parana and Uruguay isn't in the centre of the plain.
....
This island is in a fork of the river with natural channels on either side
- there would be no need for
any original inhabitants to dig a canal to the sea so that ships could reach the city.
It is however an interesting location and one which I considered a few years
ago while looking for the site of Tarshish because it would have made a good base for the Atlanteans or Phoenicians
making their first landfall after ocean voyages. So it remains an interesting island all the same.
This region also gives the reader an idea of just how vast this continent is, when it can accommodate not only the Entre Rios plain described by Doug Fisher,
but fit another plain of similar size into the Chaco, apart from the Beni plain described by David Antelo, several more again which could be fitted into Amazonia
then of course in addition we have the original Atlantis plain enclosed by mountains found on the Altiplano.
Louisiana
A location recently brought to the public attention by John Jensen is the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, see
Ancient Canal Builders.
It is clear that Plato's "Atlantis" is the twin continents of the Americas and that an
ancient culture disappeared in a great cataclysm as the additional studies clearly show (see links at foot of page).
Yet whether we talk about the Argentinian plain or the Beni or the Louisiana Seaboard plain, there are certain characteristics of Atlantis
which are unique to the Altiplano and the Andes, which these other regions do not have.
We already mentioned that the region should be volcanic, with a volcanic island because the concentric rings
were carved out of the rock, which was black, red and white, as at Pampa Aullagas.
Additionally, and here is a unique and interesting point, Plato says the first kings were born in Pairs and
Inca legend tells us the first inhabitants were born in pairs. Not only that, but the Aymara of the Altiplano also
organised their kingdoms in pairs before the Spanish Conquest.
On the Altiplano, there are no bulls, but the sacrifice of llamas is a tradition going back thousands of years,
including throwing a libation onto the fire as Plato described so it is sure that the word "bull" was used instead
of "llama" when originally translated, after all, who in Egypt or Greece would know of a llama?
There again, on the Altiplano we actually have a traditional legend of a city punished by
the gods and sunk beneath the sea (lake),
something we don't have in the Argentinian plain, or the Beni, or Thera, or Cyprus, or the Azores etc etc.
Then we have the deposits of the metals, the vast quantites of gold, silver, copper, tin and
orichalcum are all found in mines around the edge of Lake Poopo on the Altiplano which is the centre
of the modern mining industry in Bolivia. No one would import tin for example to plate the perimeter of a
city wall unless there were vast deposits nearby, and all these metals can easily be carried by land or sea
to Pampa Aullagas which is on the lake which is the centre of these mining industries.
Additionally, the Altiplano has periodically been sunk beneath the sea when it was submerged
by giant pre-historic lakes, and on top of that, the southern region was sunk by earthquakes so
that the water now drains from north to south when originally it drained from south to north. And
Pampa Aullagas itself has been devasted by earthquakes which have torn parts from the volcano and
twisted them around, giving it the appearance it has today and with its concentric ringed channels now filled with sand.
For further analysis of Plato's statements please see
Some more World Views
Above, this interesting projection shows the land masses of the world in equal area so
Greenland appears the correct size, about one seventh the size of South America. It is not
hard to see the continent which is opposite the Pillars of Hercules
and which Plato said was "larger than Libya and Asia combined." "Libya" at that time meant
North Africa, and Asia is thought to have meant the Near and Middle East. The vast size of
South America is often not fully appreciated on most map projections which show Greenland as about the same size
as South America due to stretching of the map in northern latitudes (Mercator projections).
We can also compare
the sizes of Crete, Sicily or Sardinia for example and they become mere dots compared to the size of the continent of Atlantis/America.
See also additional studies,
atlantis canals on the Altiplano
canals gallery
Chipaya canals gallery
canals in Peru
Caral, Peru containment canal
Atlantis stade - Egyptian and Sumerian cubits
Tiwanaku cubits
Peru cubits and calendar
cubits between altiplano canals
above, a much publicised theory by Robert Sarmast puts Atlantis in Cyprus,
but no evidence has been forthcoming apart from some fuzzy diagrams such as the above - others say this part of the Mediterranean was flooded five million years ago.
above, the size of the plain when reduced to Egyptian stades of 52.4 metres.
Some people think the plain was the coastal strip and Doñana Marshes
above, a graphic from the film "Finding Atlantis". Although they have shown the correct distance of 50 stades from the sea, the rings are shown about three times larger than they should be.
above, the investigation centred on a rectangular feature first seen on Google earth.
above, the rectangular feature was thought to be a temple and this imaginery structure has been conceived around it.
above, the rectangular feature can be seen in this Google Earth photo, but no concentric ring
islands can be seen around it.
It was claimed that electrical readings indicated structures beneath the ground, but
no realistic evidence was presented and in any case, since the site does not match the
geographic description given by Plato, it is more probable that any city actually located
there would be more likely to have been an ancient trading centre such as Tartessos rather than Atlantis itself,
which Plato also said "ruled Europe as far as Tuscany".
According to Reuters
anothert theory by Geographer Ulf Erlingsson
says the measurements, geography, and landscape of Atlantis as described by Plato match Ireland almost exactly.
Some claim that this is the plain of Atlantis on Sicily!
This tiny area on Sicily is only 20 miles long by about 10 miles wide! And even then, it
is the wrong way round, measuring upwards from the sea!
Enlargement showing there is no smooth and level rectangular plain enclosed by mountains on Sicily.
The proposed location of the circular city and the corresponding plain.
The outer area of the site is about 5 nautical miles or 50 Greek stades from the sea but
then the site itself would measure about
4.5 nautical miles or 45 stades from west to east
The length of the plain shown here is 56 nautical miles which is 560 Greek stades
instead of the 3,000 - it could be considered longer if measured up the river valley but would
then lose its "rectangular" qualities. The proposed plain has more of a "boomerang" shape, while
Plato said it was originally a quadrangle, rectilinear and in the proportion of 3,000 to 2,000 units.
and the width shown here is 18 nautical miles which is 180 Greek stades instead of the 2,000 of Plato.
Above, There is no rectangular plain in the Azores and there is no sunken continent in the Azores.
Above, There is no rectangular plain or sunken continent
in the Atlantic Ocean and according to modern geologists, it would be impossible for
a complete continent to sink in the space of a day and night as Plato said.
According to the latest studies, the age of the Antarctic ice is 400,000 years, Click for report.
Antactica is a popular choice amongst some enthusiasts
but at the time Plato spoke of
it was already under ice for thousands of years,
Above, Antarctica free of ice would be only half its present size
and whether with or without the ice, there is no
rectangular plain on Antarctica
According to the latest studies, the age of the Greenland ice is 120,000 years, Click for report.
so there is no posibility that Greenland could be Atlantis.
Greenland appears to have an elongated rectangular shaped basin beneath the ice,
the figure on the left is about 8,000 stades by 2,000 stades i.e. about two and three quarters longer than the plain should be,
but an overlay of 3,000 x 2,000 Greek stades could be fitted into the southern end as shown, the right hand figure
shows an overlay of 3,000 x 2,000 Greek stades superimposed onto the northern section.
Not quite an exact match but better than many other places.
The basin was caused by the weight of the ice itself and if it were habitable before
120,000 years ago, then it is way outside Plato's timescale so not potentially an Atlantis
site especially as the
Atlantis theory postulated by Mario Dantas says it moved from some place near Azores/Canary islands
to its present position, a geological impossibility! Going back to the time of Pangea, Greenland was nearer Norway,
but Pangea broke up 250 million years ago.
Pangea broke up 250,000,000 years ago
South America on the same time scale became
an independent island before it joined up with north America, guess what geologists
called it - ATLANTICA -
Above, there is a continent opposite the Pillars of Hercules which is the size of "Asia and Libya combined".
Above, the continent which has the rectangular plain
in the centre of the continent is South America.
Above, in the centre of this continent using the
description Plato gave "in the centre of the continent, next to the sea
and midway along its greatest length", we find the rectangular plain Plato described..
The Altiplano, Bolivia.
Below,
relief map based on Bartholomews "Atlas of the World", showing the rectangular level
plain in the Altiplano, Bolivia. It is next to the inland sea called lake Poopo and in the correct
proportions of 3,000 x 2,000 stades using
a stade of about 300 feet (92 metres) or of 330 feet (100.58 metres). Since the Altiplano is such a large area,
we do not know exactly where they
would have measured from so the stade could vary between half a Greek stade at say 303ft or it was more probably
a stade of 330 feet which would be half a Sumerian furlong and 200 Sumerian cubits.
See Atlantis stade and actual plots found in Mexico.
Above, the width of the plain at its centre, measuring "upwards from the sea" (Bury translation)
is
very much 2,000 stades using a stade of, for example 300ft.
Considering the plain was divided into allotments,
it probably depended on which units best fitted with the units used for the allotments, and the stade of
a half furlong of 330 feet is double the stade of 165 feet which seems to have been used to
measure the circular site at Pampa Aullagas and which has also been found in allotments of 10 x 10 stades in Mexico.
The reader can easily scale the image since one degree of latitude is 60 x nautical miles.
Above, the dimensions of the plain in stades of 330ft make a pretty good fit
with dimensions of 3,000 x 2,000 pretty much defining the Altiplano at its widest point.
Above, the allotment of 10 x 10 stades of 330ft can be divided into 20 x 20 "setat" of land
or it can be divided into 4 quarters each of 10 x 10 stades of 165ft and correspondingly, 10 x 10 setat of land,
so each quarter could support 10 landholders or familes and under the decimal Inca system the lowest
economic unit was a block of 10 workers controlled by a "straw boss". (see atlantis stade)
Above, At last the Altiplano gives up its secrets! These channels
on the Bolivian Altiplano north west of La Paz region are in regular plots
of 330ft confirming the use of the 330ft stade to describe the rectangular plain next to Lake Poopo.
Satellite photo of the site at Pampa Aullagas. The remains of three sandy
channels separated by two rings of land can be seen on the western side of the island.
Lake Tauca, which lasted from 10,500BC to 9,000BC covered the Altiplano to a depth of 60
metres, note the rectangular shape (Basin Coipasa + Basin Uyuni) of the flooded plain,
click for report.
Since identification and publication of the rectangular plain of Atlantis as the Altiplano in Bolivia, two
other proponents of South America have come along putting forward the Beni and Argentina respectively as the plain of Atlantis,
but if we look closely these locations again do not fit the description as well as the Altiplano.
The Beni, Bolivia.
No so long ago the theory was put forward by Bolivian engineer David Antelo that a region of the Beni
was the plain of Atlantis, and following on from a circular drawing he found in a cave he identified
by Google Earth a circular formation on a river near lake Roja Aguado which he claimed was the original city of Atlantis. I believe
he has subsequently modified his claims to state that it was not the Atlantis of Plato, but the Atlantis of the Antis Indians
and "land of the Musus". This may be because the canals and earthworks in this region are not thought old enough to belong to Plato's Atlantis. It is worthwhile to view the film
"Atlantida de las Musus - Beni" which shows some of the many straight line canals found in the region.
Above, David Antelo's interpretation of the site.
Above, high resolution image of the site. The outer ring measures about one stade
on the north-west side and one and a half stades on the north-east side, while the centre area
is about 5 stades in diameter forming a lake instead of an island. A channel
appears cut through from the outer to the inner ring, but that is not unusual
since in the river systems of south America there are thousands of artificially adapted lakes and islands, see
rio Parana canals, ponds and islands for examples
and see
Beni ponds for images of the great number of artificial lagoons in this region.
.
Above, the outer ring measures about one stade on the north-west side.
Above, actual dimensions across the centre is about 5 stades using Greek stades..
Above, typical diagrams showing formation of oxbow lakes.
Above, this site near Santa Teresa shows how oxbows can form enclosing one another from the river..
note the artificial ponds on the left
Above, this site on the Amazon shows how oxbows can form enclosing one another
from the river.
Notice how the two oxbow lakes have been joined by a artificial channel.
Above, Doug Fisher's map showing the claimed area.
Above, the island at the entrance to the rio Parana.
Above, Doug's interpretation of the ringed island in the delta
uses only the western portion of the island..
Above, the site chosen is not circular and has no indication of any circular channels.
Above, it would not be possible to construct the seawall at a distance of
50 stades from the outer ring because it would fall in the river estuary.
Above, Doug considers the centre of the circular island to be 7.5 miles from the sea.
Above, 7.25 miles from the centre of the supposedly circular site measured by Google Earth.
Above, the centre of the supposedly circular site is 5 miles from the River Uruguay which gives access to the sea.
Above, how the central island would look when encircled by the
50 stades distant perimeter wall which supposedly began at the sea and ran round in a circle.
Above, the actual sea as opposed to the river is in fact, 25 miles away.
A better choice for the Argentine region might be the great plain enclosing the Chaco.
Instead of Greek stades of 606ft I have shown here (as being a better fit)
a rectangular plain of 3,000 x 2000 furlongs of 660ft bounded on the north by the rio Pilcomaya and on the east by the rio Parana.
Above, a natural formation from the rio Parana with a central island 5 stades of 660ft (furlongs) in
diameter, 50 stades from the "sea" meaning the rio Parana, but the site is made of accumulated river deposits rather than volcanic rock and the water ring is not large enough to accommodate all the concentric rings of Plato.
Concentric ringed formations formed by cut off oxbow lakes are not uncommon along the river systems of
South America such as this one on the rio Parana.
Above, the site appears to have been adapted for human occupation
with the cutting of additional channels to open up access of water from the river.
There are a great number of artificial ponds, canals and islands in this region
which have been adapted by ancient peoples
see
rio Parana canals, ponds and islands for examples.
Although not claiming the Louisiana site as the home of Atlantis,
John's page proposes that an ancient, aquatic based culture flourished in the Americas since
the Gulf Coast is covered in the remains of
apparantly ancient canals about 135ft wide and extra wide canals
such as about 1 stade of 605ft and even greater canals as much as 900ft in width. Some of these
canals run into the sea in what is now the Gulf of Mexico, crossing islands and emerging on land
again suggesting they were built at a time when the water level was lower, i.e. before
the land was drowned at the end of the last ice age by the rising waters of the Gulf of Mexico,
but the great majority of canals in this area were created by the oil industry and these are considered
as the cause of the destruction and sinking of a large part of the Louisiana wetlands areas.
The vast number of oil industry canals also make it difficult to identify with certainty ancient canals in this region.
See also
additional photos
Above, example of sunken canal complex on the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Above, this canal section is 605ft wide (about 1 stade.
Above, this 1998 photo shows a circular harbour complex of concentric rings 328ft in diameter,
built by the oil industry or ancient inhabitants of the Gulf Coast?...
Above, the ice age shoreline (dotted) compared to the present day shoreline.
Plato's statements 50 points relative to Altiplano CLICK HERE
Another equal area projection showing the continent opposite the Pillars of Hercules.
The geosphere composed from satellite images gives a sense of Atlantis/South America as an island....
geoforms on the Altiplano
agricultural variations on the Altiplano
ringed hilltops
earthquakes
contour forms/irrigation Peru
contourforms/irigation Bolivia
Bombo earthquake route
Bombo route oblique views
Paria, Oruro containment canals
canal to sea (lago UruUru)
Pantanal
Beni, Moxos gallery
rio Paraguay levees canals
rio Parana canals, ponds and islands
rio Parana delta canals
Corrientes
rio Amazon to Manaus
rio Amazon west from Manaus
rio Orinocco to Amazon canal
canals on the Louisiana seaboard
Tabasco, Mexico canals gallery
flooding dates on the Altiplano
Atlantis stones gallery
Teotihuacan measuring unit
Teotihuacan citadel measuring units
Chichen Itza and El Castillo measuring units
Monte Alban, measuring units
the Tiwanaku soli-lunar calendar
the Muisca calendar
Lost Calendar of the Andes
Decoding the quipu mathematics
