Atlantis has been placed by researchers in- Ireland
- The Mediterranean
- The Canary Islands
- Antarctica
- Indonesia
- The Caribbean
- The Black Sea
- The Azores
Let us examine each possibility individually.
Ireland
Ulf Erlingsson, a Swedish geographer who has been researching Atlantis for his book (Atlantis From a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land) is 99.98% sure that Plato's writings about Atlantis are a reference to the Emerald Isle. "Just like Atlantis," he says, "Ireland is 300 miles [480 kilometers] long, 200 miles [320 kilometers] wide, and features a central plain that is open to the sea." He suggests the island that sank was not Ireland, but nearby Dogger Bank, which was hit by a flood wave in 6,100 B.C.
Erlingsson says Ireland's megalithic monuments, dating back to 3,000 B.C., can be associated with the palaces and temples described by Plato. The megalithic culture of Western Europe and Northern Africa was more advanced than other Stone Age cultures, and Ireland is one of its core regions, he noted.
"The hill in which the Atlanteans' maternal ancestor, Cleito, was born resembles Tara, the legendary seat of the high king of Ireland, while Newgrange resembles the palace of their paternal ancestor, Poseidon. I have looked at geographical data of the whole world. Of the 50 largest islands, Ireland is the only one that matches Plato's description of the landscape."
The Mediterranean
Many consider the island of Thera/Thira (also called Santorini) in the Agean Sea the most plausible place for Atlantis. Like the Atlantis described by Plato, the setup of Thera features concentric rings of alternating water and land. Like Plato's Atlantis, Thera had a flourishing civilization (in this case, bronze-age) that was wiped out in a single cataclysmic event. But unlike the Atlantis Plato tells us of, Thera is located in the Mediterranean Sea, rather than the Atlantic Ocean.
Even so, it was close enough to communicate and challenge Greece like Plato said.
The two islands most thought to be home to Atlantis are Sardinia and Thera, both in the Mediterranean. However, neither of these are located "beyond the Pillars of Hercules," which is where Plato placed it.
If Plato is to be trusted, the lost island of Atlantis was in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Gibraltar.
