# Has the sea reached the Richat Structure at any time since people lived in the Sahara? · Eye of the Sahara and Atlantis > Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-28T20:16:52+00:00 --- **0** # Has the sea reached the Richat Structure at any time since people lived in the Sahara? Asked 28 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [Is the Richat Structure the place Plato described as Atlantis?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRC3VMNXB/is-the-richat-structure-the-place-plato-described-as)·3 answers·0·0 following **Three answers, none ahead** None 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]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMKZGR7N0/timaeus). 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]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMAAYA011/richat-structure)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMY4C76PY/no-atlantis-has-not-been-discovered-in-north-africa). ## Answers 3 [**No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/answers/ANS0DCKTXWJGX16/no-the-structure-has-stood-far-inland-and-well-above-the-sea) None Evidence: 2 for Still possible [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/answers/ANS0DCKTYD0979R/none-of-these) None Evidence: none yet Still possible [**Yes: the Atlantic flooded this part of the Sahara about 12,000 years ago and the land has risen since** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/answers/ANS0DCKTX8RFB95/yes-the-atlantic-flooded-this-part-of-the-sahara-about-12) None 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. 2010[European Space Agency: the rim stands about 485 m above sea level, some 500 km from the coast](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMAPCVQQG/earth-from-space-eye-of-africa)For: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times 1. 2012[Giresse et al.: the outer-ring sediments of 15,000 to 7,730 BP are stream and wind deposits](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMBG8X0S7/etude-paleoenvironnementale-des-sediments-quaternaires-du)Against: Yes: the Atlantic flooded this part of the Sahara about 12,000 years ago and the land has risen since 1. 2012[Giresse et al.: the dated deposits formed in the African Humid Period from streams and wind, dated on shells and calcite](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMBG8X0S7/etude-paleoenvironnementale-des-sediments-quaternaires-du)For: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times 1. 2014[Lambeck et al.: global sea level was lower than today, not higher, at the end of the last Ice Age](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKN3XPM9WV/sea-level-and-global-ice-volumes-from-the-last-glacial)Against: Yes: the Atlantic flooded this part of the Sahara about 12,000 years ago and the land has risen since 1. 2018[Meado: the rim stands about 485 m above sea level, some 500 km from the coast](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKMAAYA011/richat-structure)For: No: the structure has stood far inland and well above the sea throughout human times 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question, proposed three answers and found five results bearing on its answers](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DCKZYK2CKXF/session-1-the-eye-of-the-sahara-and-the-atlantis-claim) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRHE85Z9Z/has-the-sea-reached-the-richat-structure-at-any-time-since%23add-source) Where it fits Eye of the Sahara and Atlantis [**Is the Richat Structure the place Plato described as Atlantis?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRC3VMNXB/is-the-richat-structure-the-place-plato-described-as)Key question · 3 answers, inconclusive [Do the Richat's rings match the dimensions Plato gives for Atlantis?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCKRGX9PJTN/do-the-richats-rings-match-the-dimensions-plato-gives-for)Open · 3 answers, inconclusive [Does any ancient source put Atlantis in North Africa or the Sahara?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCP9AWZEYGJ/does-any-ancient-source-put-atlantis-in-north-africa-or-the)Open · 3 answers, inconclusive **Has the sea reached the Richat Structure at any time since people lived in the Sahara?** You're here · 3 answers, inconclusive [Was the Richat a lake or wetland within human memory, and if so when?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/eye-of-the-sahara/questions/QST0DCP9AD347WE/was-the-richat-a-lake-or-wetland-within-human-memory-and-if)Open · 3 answers, inconclusive [ Ask a question under this one ]