The lost city of Atlantis: 4 possible locations

It was off the coast of Spain, says a U.S. research team that's offering new evidence. But that's just one of several competing theories

A 1928 illustration of Plato's Atlantis: Researchers have placed the sunken island nation near Greece, Cyrus, Africa and now Spain.
(Image credit: Corbis)

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato once wrote that Atlantis — everyone's favorite lost island civilization — had been destroyed around 9,000 B.C. after its inhabitants attempted to take over Athens. Plato placed the island city-state near the modern-day Strait of Gibraltar, and claimed it "disappeared into the depths of the sea" in a single day and night, leading many to speculate that a tsunami destroyed it. Ever since Plato's tantalizing hints, many a treasure hunter has gone in search of Atlantis, but nobody has ever definitively located it. Here are four possible locations, starting with the latest theory:

1. Spain

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