The story of the island of Atlantis originates in two of Plato's dialogues entitled Timaeus and Critias.Active Mind: Timaeus and Critias These are the only existing records that mention Atlantis. In the dialogues Plato says that the lost continent lay in the Atlantic Ocean near the Straits of Gibraltar until its destruction 12,000 years ago.

In February 2009 a British aeronautical engineer claims to have spotted the lost city using Google Ocean. However, Google has responded to the claim and says the lines seen on the ocean floor are an artifact left over from the path of the ship taking the data measurements.SkyNews: Has The Lost City Of Atlantis Been Found? (February 20, 2009)

Bernie Bamford, a British aeronautical engineer, claims that he has spotted what he thinks is the lost city of Atlantis off the coast of West Africa. The engineer claims that a grid 620 miles off the western part of the continent is at a depth of 3.5 miles and consists of a series of cross-lines within a rectangle. The grid was spotted using Google Ocean. However, in a statement, Google calls the discovery of the city highly unlikely; stating further that, "boats use sonar to take measurements of the seafloor and the lines shown reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data."SkyNews: Has The Lost City Of Atlantis Been Found? (February 20, 2009)

Many people today believe the account to be a work of fiction devised to express certain philosophical arguments. Others believe the story to be based on a catastrophic event that was responsible for the destruction of the Minoan civilization.Britannica: Minoan Civilization Another theory is that the story refers to a long lost and almost forgotten land.

In modern times, those who believe that Atlantis did once exist have suggested a number of different possible locations including the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica and even beneath the Bermuda Triangle.