The concept of lost continents, such as Atlantis, is often mistaken as real, but they only exist through myths or archaeological evidence. During the last ice age, many areas now flooded were once inhabited by humans, including Doggerland, Sundaland, and Beringia. Most human settlements from this period are now underwater, making archaeology difficult. The Kerguelen Plateau and Antarctica are examples of lost continents, with the former being a microcontinent submerged under water and the latter once being a forest continent.
A lost continent is a continent, island, or large region that existed long ago but lives on today only through indirect evidence such as myths or scant archaeological evidence. The world’s most famous lost continent, Atlantis, was a fictional example invented by Plato around 360 BC to illustrate his political theories. According to Plato, Atlantis was a naval power that lay “opposite the Pillars of Hercules” (Strait of Gibraltar) “9000 years before the time of Solon”, or about 9600 BC Although Plato’s description of the lost continent of Atlanta was clearly fictitious, millions of thinkers over the centuries have subsequently latched on to the concept and mistakenly consider it real.
While Atlantis never existed, the concept of the lost continent is not entirely fictitious. During the last ice age, which reached its peak 20,000 years ago and ended 12,000 years ago, much of the world’s water was locked up in huge continental glaciers, resulting in sea levels of about 100 m (328 ft) lower than today. This meant that many now flooded areas were once dry, and many of them are known to have been inhabited by humans.
These include Doggerland, which occupied the present North Sea; Sundaland, which consisted of several of Indonesia’s islands; the Philippine Islands, which formed one large island; Australia and New Guinea were connected to form Sahulland; and there were large tracts of land between present-day Alaska and Russia, forming Beringia, where humans dwelt for thousands of years as an independent community trapped on all sides by glaciers. Large areas around the edges of the present Black Sea were also above water and inhabited.
Because humans like to live near oceans when they can, most human settlements from the period of the last ice age are currently under water, making archeology of this long period very difficult. Some of the most amazing rock painting sites have been discovered in caves connected to underwater passageways. Submerged for 12,000 years, these sites were kept hidden from human eyes until the invention of scuba diving in the 1930s. Many more remain to be discovered. Due to the last ice age, much of the submerged fringes of the current continents are lost lands.
Two of the grandest examples of a lost continent are the Kerguelen Plateau, a microcontinent in the southern Indian Ocean nearly three times the size of Japan but submerged 1–2 km (0.6–1.2 mi) under water; and Antarctica, which was once a forest continent. For most of Earth’s history, Antarctica was further north and connected to other continents. About 23 million years ago, it began to freeze, killing all complex plants and animals on its surface.
The Kerguelen Plateau formed as a large igneous province about 130 million years ago, and was a microcontinent connected to Australia and India for millions of years, as evidenced by its geological composition. About 50 million years ago, it probably had tropical flora and fauna, but all of this was destroyed when it sank under water 20 million years ago.
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