the lost city of atlantis

Today an article appeared in Wired magazine's on-line blog detailing how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) create maps of the ocean floor. Some years ago, the data they collected was integrated into the data utilized by Google Earth. Some observant aficionados of this app noticed a grid of regular lines in a portion of the undersea floor northwest of the Canary Islands. They immediately proclaimed these grids to be an indication of civilization in the form of streets. It was not long before they speculated this to be the streets of the sunken city of Atlantis.

Purportedly, as reported by Plato in 360 BC, the city of Atlantis sunk into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune" as a result of earthquakes and floods.

Sadly, Google Earth was displaying an error that resulted from the sonar method that oceanographers used to map the ocean floor and the way various maps and data were integrated. As NOAA cited, "the lines show the paths traveled by the ships that gathered these higher-resolution sonar readings." This week Google updated their maps with the corrected images.

As I've stated in a previous post, I sincerely want to believe in such mysteries. I still hold out hope for the discovery of the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti and the Abominable Snowman. I would like to think that there are such things that remain undiscovered even though modern technology seems to continually and brutally advance solely to dispel the romantic notions of mythical creatures and legends of yore.

And yet, there are after all, new species that have been discovered and continue to be discovered (which I celebrate). And even more importantly, the discovery of heretofore previously thought extinct species. Why then, is it not possible for the Loch Ness Monster to be swimming happily in the murky waters of the Loch? Or for the Lost City of Atlantis to be a historical fact rather than a mythical tale? Regardless, I will continue to believe in the possibility of such wondrous and awe-inspiring things.