Is it the real Atlantis? Lost islands discovered that sank off the Canary Islands millions of years ago

Researchers have found lost islands that sank off the Canary Islands millions of years ago. Scientists suggest that the famous Atlantis may be hidden among them.

The world's most famous lost island Atlantis was invented by the famous philosopher Plato 2300 years ago. Spanish researchers claim to have found the source of the ancient Greek thinker's inspiration – a series of sunken islands off the northwest coast of Africa, DailyMail reports.

A team of Spanish researchers has launched an unmanned submarine off the Canary Islands to investigate the seabed at depths of 100 to 2,500 meters. On the seafloor, the robot used high-resolution cameras, robotic arms to take samples from the seabed and sensors for gases such as CO2 and methane in the water.

Experts have seen many islands that sank millions of years ago, which would be close to the modern Canary Islands. Scientists have dubbed the now submerged lands Los Atlantes, referring to the myth of Atlantis, which is still favored by researchers.

"They were islands in the past, and they sank. And they are still sinking, as the legend of Atlantis tells us," said Luis Somoza, a marine geologist with the Spanish Geological Survey (IGME-CSIC).

According to the scientists, the Los Atlantes islands are covered with "great life", from gardens of coral and sponges to areas covered with "bacterial mats" – multi-layered sheets of microorganisms.

Interestingly, these islands are located on a massive "seamount" with steep slopes rising from the seabed, where three inactive volcanoes are located. The diameter of the seamount is about 50 km, and its base is about 2.3 km below the ocean surface.

Researchers suggest that the islands could have sunk when the volcanoes stopped erupting and the lava hardened and became dense.

Land sinking to the seabed is not unusual. For example, the UK is also surrounded by former islands and coastal areas that have sunk. One of them is Ravenser Odd, a medieval town on an island described as the "Atlantis of Yorkshire".

As for Plato's Atlantis, there are no confirmed sources that it existed. It is a myth that also says that this island was swallowed up by another mystical object, the Bermuda Triangle.

The area of the Atlantic Ocean, also known as the Devil's Triangle, has become an urban legend after more than 50 ships and 20 airplanes disappeared in the area.

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