Brazilian and Japanese Scientists May Have Found Lost Continent Off Coast of Brazil
Posted on May 9, 2013
A team of Brazilian and Japanese scientists believe they have located a missing continent off the coast of Brazil. A large chunk of granite, a type of rock formed on dry land, was recovered from the seabed 8,000 feet below the surface.
The Japan Times reports that quartz was also found in the seabed. This could be evidence of a continent that disappeared when Africa and South America separated over 100 million years ago - before the supercontinent Pangea broke and drifted apart. The rocks were found using a Shinkai 6500 manned submersible operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The region the submersible is exploring is the Rio Grande Elevation, which is located about 900 miles from the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The Telegraph reports that the missing land mass is being dubbed the Brazilian Atlantis, but this is more of a symbolic designation as the scientists don't expect to find a lost city. Pangea is also far older than the legendary city mentioned in Plato's writings. However, if it does turn out to be part of a lost land mass there could be some very interesting fossils of dinosaurs or other creatures in the rocks now buried in the sea floor.
CNN shares some raw footage from the underwater exploration in this video. Take a look: