Mysteries Department
Sign inRequest access
0

Has the sea reached the Richat Structure at any time since people lived in the Sahara?

Asked 28 Oct 2026 by ·Part of Is the Richat Structure the place Plato described as Atlantis?·3 answers·0·0 following
Three answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible.

Why it matters

Plato's Atlantis lay on the sea and was swallowed by it in a day and a night⁠[1]. The Richat stands on a plateau about 500 km from the coast, so the identification needs the Atlantic to have reached it about 12,000 years ago and the land to have risen since⁠[2]⁠[3].

Answers 3

Evidence: 2 for
Still possible
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for, 2 against
Still possible

What would settle it

  1. Search the literature for any study of marine fossils, evaporites or palaeo-shorelines at the Richat or on the Adrar plateau, and for uplift rates of the plateau since the Pleistocene.

History

  1. European Space Agency: the rim stands about 485 m above sea level, some 500 km from the coastFor: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times
  2. Giresse et al.: the outer-ring sediments of 15,000 to 7,730 BP are stream and wind depositsAgainst: Yes: the Atlantic flooded this part of the Sahara about 12,000 years ago and the land has risen since
  3. Giresse et al.: the dated deposits formed in the African Humid Period from streams and wind, dated on shells and calciteFor: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times
  4. Lambeck et al.: global sea level was lower than today, not higher, at the end of the last Ice AgeAgainst: Yes: the Atlantic flooded this part of the Sahara about 12,000 years ago and the land has risen since
  5. Meado: the rim stands about 485 m above sea level, some 500 km from the coastFor: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times
  6. Session 1: raised the question, proposed three answers and found five results bearing on its answers
Add evidence
1What it bears on2What you found3Where it comes from
Which answer?
Does it count for or against it?
In a sentence, what did you find?
What you found optional
Where it comes from optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Propose an answer
Your answer, in a sentence
What would rule it out? optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Ask a sub-question
Your question
Why it would help optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Add a source
The source
What it shows about this question optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.

Discussion 0

Add to the discussion