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Lost lands are continents, islands or other regions believed by some to have existed during prehistory, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena or slowly rising sea levels since the end of the last Ice Age. Lost lands, where they ever existed, are generally thought to have subsided into the sea, leaving behind only a few traces or legends by which they may be known. The term can also be extended to mythological lands generally, to underground civilisations, or even to whole planets. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land mass with minimal distortion as only one continuous continent A continent (Latin continere, to hold together) is a large continuous mass of land on the planet Earth. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ... Catastrophism is the theory that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... A planet (from the Greek πλανήτης, planetes or wanderers) is a body of considerable mass that orbits a star and that produces very little or no energy through nuclear fusion. ...

The classification of lost lands as continents, islands or other regions is in some cases subjective; for example, Atlantis is variously described as either a "lost island" or a "lost continent".

Lost land theories may originate in ancient legends, or as scholarly or scientific theories, that may later be picked up by writers and individuals outside academia. Occult and New Age writers have made use of lost lands, as have subaltern peoples such as the Tamil in India. The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden.[1] In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... The term subaltern is used in postcolonial theory to refer to marginalized groups and the lower classes; this sense of the word was coined by Antonio Gramsci. ... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ...

Lost continents

As the study "Lost Continents" by L. Sprague de Camp seeks to show, many modern occult or New Age writers speculate about ancient civilizations that dwelled on continents now deluged under sea level. According to de Camp, there is no real scientific evidence for any lost continents whatsoever. It is a great theme for fantasy and science fiction writers; De Camp himself wrote some stories on this theme. Lost Lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. ... Lyon Sprague de Camp, (November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden.[1] In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... The Deluge by Gustave Doré. The story of a Great Flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme in Greek and many other cultural myths. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

• The most famous lost continent is Atlantis. Plato's story of Atlantis might be influenced by, among other things, the legend of the city of Troy. Atlantis, like Hyperborea and Thule, is ultimately derived from ancient Greek geographic speculation.

• The name of hypothetical vanished continent Mu originated from the first attempted translation of the Madrid Codex, one of only four remaining Maya codices.

• Something similar seems to have happened upon the discovery of the Sanskrit literature by Europeans. Louis Jacolliot claimed to have learned from this literature about a sunken continent called Rutas. This in turn seems to have influenced Madame Blavatsky and her speculations about Lemuria. Speculations about Kumari Kandam also seem to be linked to this field. The name Lemuria originated from the scientific hypothesis about a land bridge between India and South Africa. With the discovery of the continental drift, however, this hypothesis is now completely obsolete.

Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, according to tradition, the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived far to the north of Thrace. ... Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus. ... The Temple to Athena, the Parthenon Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around three thousand years. ... Underwater structures controversially identified as remnants of Mu, near Yonaguni, Japan Mu is the name of a hypothetical vanished continent. ... Page 9 of the Dresden Codex (from the 1880 Förstermann edition) Maya codices (singular codex) are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican paper, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Louis Jacolliot (*1837 in Charolles, † 1890 in Saint Thibault des Vignes) was a french author. ... Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical lost land variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate tectonics theory Continental drift refers to the movement of the Earths continents relative to each other. ...

Other lost lands

In addition to these myths about lost continents there also are various regional legends about lost lands; see e.g. Lyonesse, Cantref Gwaelod which is also known under Lowland Hundred, or the legend about Lomea, located at the Goodwin Sands. Unlike the lost continents mentioned above, which have been localized at various places, these lost lands are associated with one specified place. Lyonesse, Lyoness, or Lyonnesse is the sunken land believed in legend to lie off the Isles of Scilly, to the south-west of Cornwall. ... Cantref Gwaelod (more commonly: Cantrer Gwaelod, literally: - The Lowland Hundred in English) is the legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land stretching northwards from Ramsey Island to Bardsey Island over what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales, often described as... The Goodwin Sands are a 10-mile long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east of Deal in Kent, England. ...

Phantom islands

Main article: Phantom island

Phantom islands, as opposed to lost lands, are land masses formerly believed by cartographers to exist in the historical age, but to have been discredited as a result of expanding geographic knowledge. Terra Australis is a phantom continent. While a few phantom islands originated from literary works (an example is Ogygia from Homer's Odyssey), most phantom islands are the result of nautical errors. Phantom islands are islands that are believed to exist and appear on maps for a period of time (sometimes centuries), and then are removed after they are proven not to exist (or the general population stops believing that they exist). ... This article or section should be merged with Category:Phantom islands Phantom islands are islands that are believed to exist and appear on maps for a period of time (sometimes centuries), and they are removed after they are proven not to exist (or the general population stops believing that they... Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ... Terra Australis is the large continent on the bottom of the map Terra Australis (also: Terra Australis Incognita, Latin for the unknown land of the South) was an imaginary continent, appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century. ... Ogygia was believed to have been an island in the Mediterranean that sank following a huge and powerful earthquake, which shook the area before the bronze age. ... Homer (Greek: , ) was an early Greek poet and aoidos (rhapsode) traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ... Beginning of the Odyssey The Odyssey (Greek Οδύσσεια (Odússeia) ) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the Ionian poet Homer. ...

Mythological lands

Mythological lands which were once supposed to exist, but are not thought by scientists to have ever existed.

• Avalon
• Shambhala
• Shangri-La, a fictitious valley in Tibet the idea of which may have been inspired by the myth of Shambhala
• Quivira and Cíbola, also known as the Seven Cities of Gold. These were suspected somewhere in America by the conquistadors.

The Last Sleep of Arthur by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple; see Etymology below) is a legendary island somewhere in the British Isles, famous for its beautiful apples. ... Kalachakra [1] thangka from Sera Monastery (private collection). ... Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. ... Kalachakra [1] thangka from Sera Monastery (private collection). ... // The origin of the legend Quivira and Cíbola are two of the fantastic Seven Cities of Gold existing only in a myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Mérida, Spain. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1], Central America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Conquistador (Spanish: kōn-kē-stŏ-dōr) (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas and Asia Pacific under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 17th centuries, starting with the 1492 settlement...

Hollow Earth theory

Main article: Hollow Earth

Also related to the theme of Lost lands is that of Hollow Earth, as some proponents of Hollow Earth theory have claimed that the inner earth would be inhabited. Furthermore, using the concept of vast underground caves or even a completely Hollow Earth, some authors try to explain how an ancient civilisation could continue to exist, even if its former continent became deluged. A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and, possibly, a habitable inner surface. ...

The most prominent lost land mentioned in Hollow Earth theory would be Agartha. This article belongs in one or more categories. ...

Accounts of a Hollow Earth

Some of these authors, such as H.P. Blavatsky and theosophist followers, believed in the existence of a number of lost lands within the Hollow Earth and held many "fictional" accounts of these places and their peoples to be true. Such accounts include: A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and, possibly, a habitable inner surface. ...

• Vril: The Power of the Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, published in 1870
• The Phantom of the Poles by William Reed, published in 1906.
• The Smoky God by Willis Emerson, published in 1908
• Agartha - Secrets of the Subterranean Cities
• Journey to the Earth's Interior by Marshall B. Gardner, published in 1913.
• Le Roi du Monde by René Guénon, published in 1924
• Amazing Stories magazine, which, beginning in 1943, published a plethora of material by Richard Shaver and Robert Palmer, detailing Shaver's experiences with the inhabitants of the Hollow Earth.
• The Hollow Earth - The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History Made by Admiral Richard E. Byrd in the Mysterious Land Beyond the Poles - The True Origin of the Flying Saucers, by Raymond W. Bernard, published in 1964.
• Flying Saucers from the Earth's Interior, by Raymond W. Bernard
• Agharta - The Subterranean World by Dr. Raymond Bernard
• Nazisme et sociétés Secrètes by Jean-Claude Frère, published in 1974
• World Beyond the Poles by Giannini
• Paradise Found by William F. Warren

Vril is a word from a science-fiction novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton titled Vril: The Power of the Coming Race. ... Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 - January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... The Phantom of the Poles is a book written by William Reed, and published in 1906. ... William Reed (June 6, 1776 - February 18, 1837) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. ... The Smoky God is a book by Willis George Emerson, which presents itself as a true account of the Norwegian sailor Olaf Jansen and explains how Jansens sloop sailed through an entrance to the Earths interior at the North Pole. ... René Jean Marie Joseph Guénon (November 15, 1886 – January 7, 1951) also named Sheikh Abd al-Wahid Yahya upon his acceptance of Islam, was a French-born author. ... Amazing Stories magazine, sometimes retitled Amazing Science Fiction, began in April 1926, becoming the first science fiction magazine and one of the pioneers of science fiction in the United States. ... Richard Sharpe Shaver (b. ... Robert Palmer can refer to: Robert Palmer (British singer) Robert Palmer (author/producer) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Giannini is a traditional fine musical instruments maker in Brazil. ...

Lost planets

Main article: Hypothetical planet

Similar to the theme of lost continents is the theme of lost planets, planets thought to have existed during prehistory only to be later destroyed by a global cataclysm. The disruption theory of the formation of the asteroid belt from a hypothetical fifth planet has given birth to a number of these, including the doomed Phaeton, Tiamat, and Gaga, and the apocalypse bringer Nibiru. Others such as Planet V, Theia, Planet X and Vulcan arose to explain irregularities in planetary phenomena. An artists rendering of a hypothetical exoplanet. ... The cataclysm is the Greek expression for the Biblical Great Flood of Noah, from the Greek kataklysmos, to wash down. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Fifth planet (hypothetical). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The term Nibiru comes from the Sumerian cuneiform tablets and writings dating 5,000 years old. ... For the Vanbrugh College dance party, see here. ... The Big Splash. ... Planet X is a large hypothetical planet with an orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... Vulcan was the name given to a small planet proposed to exist in an orbit between Mercury and the Sun in a 19th-century hypothesis. ...

Origins

The following disciplines have given rise to lost lands:

• Mythology
• Philosophy (as with Atlantis)
• Catastrophic theories of geology
• Occult writings

The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογείν mythologein to relate myths, from μύος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λόγος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... Catastrophism is the theory that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden.[1] In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ...

In literature and philosophy

The following individuals are known for having written on the subject of lost lands:

• H.P. Blavatsky
• James Churchward
• Ignatius L. Donnelly
• Burak Eldem
• Warren Ellis
• Plato
• Augustus Le Plongeon
• Zecharia Sitchin
• H.P. Lovecraft often invoked the names of lost lands of his own invention, a practice which subsequently gave birth to the Cthulhu mythos.
• Lost lands figured prominently in the philosophy of the Nazi Thule society in regards to researchers of the occult and Nazi mysticism such as Karl Maria Wiligut, Heinrich Himmler and Otto Rahn.
• A lost land (possibly the Garden of Eden) found at the center of the Earth is the site of the climatic battle between Godzilla and Biollante in the novel Godzilla at World's End by Marc Cerasini.

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... Col. ... Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was a U.S. Congressman, populist, and writer, known primarily today for his theories on the history of Atlantis and Shakespearean authorship. ... Burak Eldem is a Turkish writer/researcher and journalist. ... Warren Ellis Warren Girade Ellis (born February 16, 1968) is a British author of comic books and graphic novels, well known for his acerbic personality and sociocultural commentaries, both through his online presence and his writing. ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Augustus Le Plongeon (1825-1908) was an archaeologist who excavated the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Yucatan. ... Zecharia Sitchins photograph from The 12th Planet Zecharia Sitchin (born 1922)[1] is a best-selling author of books promoting the ancient astronaut theory for human origins. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh Cthulhu Mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Germanic mysticism. ... Nazi mysticism is a quasi-religious undercurrent of Nazism; it denotes the mixture of Nazism with occultism, esotericism, cryptohistory, and/or the paranormal — especially in the traditions of Germanic mysticism. ... Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor) (December 10, 1866 - January 3, 1946) was also known as Himmlers Rasputin. He was born in Vienna in what was then Austria-Hungary. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; October 7, 1900–May 23, 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Otto Wilhelm Rahn (February 18, 1904—March 13, 1939) A German medievalist and a Obersturmführer of the SS. He was born in Michelstadt, Germany. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן ) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived after they were created by God. ... For other uses, see Godzilla (disambiguation). ... Biollante ) is a daikaiju from the Godzilla film series. ...

In popular culture

• The lost lands were referred to in the Torchwood episode "Small Worlds" when discussing the origin of the chosen ones who become fairies. It was commented that many of the chosen ones go back millennia and come from the lost lands.

• The TV Series Lost features an island hidden from the outside world with possible traces of a lost civilisation (the four-toed statue, the Ruins, the Temple).

For the eponymous fictional institute, see Torchwood Institute. ... Small Worlds is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. ... Lost is a popular American serial drama television series that follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a tropical island, after a passenger jet flying between Australia and the United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. ...

Real submerged lands

Although the existence of lost continents in the above sense is mythical, there are some places on earth that were once dry land but are now submerged under the sea. Approximately listed by size, these are:

• Sundaland, the now submerged Sunda Shelf
• Zealandia, a continent that is now 93% submerged under the Pacific Ocean
• Kerguelen Plateau, a submerged micro-continent which is now 1-2 km below sea level
• Beringia, connecting Asia and North America
• Maui Nui, once part of the Hawaii archipelago
• Strand, once an island off the German coast with the town Rungholt

Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeast Asia that comprises the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands. ... The Sahul Shelf and the Sunda Shelf during the last glacial maximum about 18,000 years ago. ... Topography of Zealandia. ... The Kerguelen Plateau is an underwater volcanic ridge—the largest in the Indian Ocean, and one of the largest in the world. ... The Bering land bridge, also known as Beringia, was a land bridge roughly 1600 km (1000 miles) north to south at its greatest extent, which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times during the ice ages. ... Maui Nui, also called Greater Maui, was a prehistoric Hawaiian Island built from six shield volcanoes. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... Strand was an island on the west coast of Nordfriesland in modern Germany. ... Likeliest locations of Rungholt Rungholt was a wealthy city in Nordfriesland, northern Germany. ...

Further reading

• L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley, Lands Beyond, Rinehart & Co., New York, 1952.
• L. Sprague de Camp, Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature, Dover Publications, 1970.
• Raymond H. Ramsay, No Longer on the Map: Discovering Places that Never Were, Ballantine, 1972.

Willy Ley (October 2, 1906 - June 24, 1969) was a science writer and space advocate who helped popularise rocketry and spaceflight in Germany and the United States in the early-mid twentieth century. ...

External links

• http://www.crystalinks.com/hollowearth.html