Message #244648

[Corissa]

It Lies West of the Pillars of Hercules: "This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles ... for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles [the Mediterranean] is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance". The Azores are due west of the Pillars;

Its Size Matches that Described by Plato: "the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together" Asia, or "Asia Minor" is now known as Turkey, and the land mass shown in the topographic map (above and right) is approximately the same land mass as Libya and Turkey;

It Is a Convenient Waypoint between the Pillars and the Americas: "[Atlantis] was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean". In fact, all shipping lanes between the Mediterranean and the Americas pass through or near the Azores, which are the major mid-Atlantic waypoint even today, where ships can resupply without having to travel an additional 2,000 miles further;

The Western, "Sea" Side of the Plateau is Mountainous: "The whole country was said by him to be very lofty and precipitous on the side of the sea". The "side of the sea" is the side facing the greater part of the Atlantic Ocean, which is to the west. The Azores plateau has a mountain chain all the way down its western side, becoming the Lesser Antilles islands and stretching nearly to South America;

It Has a Large Plain Surrounded by Mountains on the North and West: "The whole country was said by him to be very lofty and precipitous on the side of the sea, but the country immediately about and surrounding the city was a level plain, itself surrounded by mountains which descended towards the sea; it was smooth and even, and of an oblong shape, extending in one direction three thousand stadia, but across the centre inland it was two thousand stadia. This part of the island looked towards the south, and was sheltered from the north." The Azores plateau is basically a flat plain with mountain ranges on the north and west side of the plain. There are some scattered mountains interrupting the plain, but these might have been created up by the tectonic and/or volcanic action that accompanied the destruction of Atlantis;

It Is Submerged: "But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune ... the island of Atlantis ... disappeared in the depths of the sea". During the Ice Age, much more of the Azores were above water. Combined with a reduction of volcanic pressure under the continent, which Cayce argued was the primary cause of the sinking of Atlantis, it is clear that this plateau was once a mid-Atlantic continent.

So, based upon our analysis, the Azores are the most likely candidate for Atlantis — specifically, the island of Poseidia. Currently, only a few mountaintops of the original mountain range are still above water, but before the end of the last Ice Age, much more was above water. Magma pressure may have also been reduced for various reasons, causing the Azores to sink, and what is now the British Isles, western France and perhaps parts of Africa and the Americas to rise to the position they are in today.