Lost continent found in Indian Ocean, scientists say there are more

By Marshall Connolly, Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/26/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

It's not Atlantis, but it's still fascinating.

Researchers say they have found evidence of a lost continent in the Indian Ocean. The find reveals just how little we sometimes know about our ancient history. The continent was lost to history when researchers say it sank beneath the waves. They also add that there may be more lost continents out there.

There are many unexplained mysteries on the sea floor.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Many people don't know what they're keeping in their closets, attics, and garages, even after boxing away the items themselves. We know even less about what the world was like ages ago long before humans were created.

Scientists have new evidence of this shortcoming after studying sand taken from the beaches of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Mixed with the common sand of the beach, were crystals of zircon that much older than the sand on the beaches. Mauritius formed as a result of volcanic activity about 660 million years ago. The crystals however, are nearly two billion years old. Explaining how they got there has led researchers on a hunt which revealed the existence of a lost continent.

The lost continent which they have dubbed "Mauritia" still remains in chunks on the ocean floor. The continent was formed about two billion years ago when magma welled up from the ocean floor. It was once part of a the same landmass that is now India and Madagascar. However, as the Indian Ocean grew and India, Africa, and Madagascar parted, Mauritia sank beneath the waves.

All that's left now are grains of sand on the beach, the result of natural erosion over time.

Experts do not believe there is a likely other source for the crystals and say they are fairly certain in the conclusion.

What's more interesting is they believe that many more lost continents may exist on the sea floor. Evidence for those continents comes from gravitational anomalies in the Earth's crust. Some parts of the sea floor have greater gravitational pull than surrounding areas, which suggests the sea floor is much thicker than in other places.

That thickness likely comes from continental crusts which have sank beneath the waves in prehistoric times. If so, then it reveals that we have much more to learn about the Earth and our prehistoric past than ever imagined.

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Lost Continent, Atlantis, Mauritia, zircon, crystals, research

NEWSLETTERS »

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 5 of 5 Comments

abey
3 months ago
It is well known that there did exist on the western part of India in Bombay/Gujarat a city of Krisn'a that is said to have gone under the sea & this destruction probably came through the the flood at the time of Noe, when continents had not fully separated & to see some of its structures still standing under water is to say it would not have taken the millions/trillions years of the scientist, for tectonic plate shiftings could have been much more variable than is believed, however Biblically such findings(the Altantis of Francis becon ?) do in a way reflect to the days of Noe coming again.
Jerry N
3 months ago
"Experts do not believe there is a likely other source for the crystals and say they are fairly certain in the conclusion."

Any "expert" who claims to be "fairly certain" in his speculations on things that happened billions of years ago is an egomaniac not worth a second's notice. There are "experts" who claim to be "fairly certain" that a historical Jesus is mere fiction, even though all the written and archeological evidence available suggests otherwise.

"Evidence for those continents comes from gravitational anomalies in the Earth's crust."

Gravitational "anomalies" in the earth's crust? Pray tell, how exactly does one accurately measure slight differences in the force of gravity in locations that are thousands of feet underwater and subject to pressures many orders of magnitudes higher than the force of gravity? I doubt the depth of the sea could even be measured with the accuracy necessary to draw such a conclusion. Perhaps the same set of "fairly certain experts" came up with this one.
DAJOKN
3 months ago
Just in case someone reading this comment section looks at the remarks by Ranganathan and thinks that all Catholics are as ignorant and arrogant about science as the very small minority he represents I have decided to post some scientific truth:

The age of the universe is 13.772 billion years according to current mapping of residual microwave energy as recorded in Bennett, C.L.; Larson, L.; Weiland, J.L.; Jarosk, N.; Hinshaw, N.; Odegard, N.; Smith, K.M.; Hill, R.S. et al. (December 20, 2012). Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Final Maps and Results

The Earth is 4.54 billion years old, as determined by "Age of the Earth". U.S. Geological Survey. 1997

The earliest hominid species was Homo Habilis, which evolved 2.3 million years ago. The first hominid to leave Africa was Homo Erectus 1.3 million years ago. Homo Sapian, the species of human whose anatomical features would be familiar to us, evolved around 250,00 years ago. They migrated out of Africa 100,000 years ago - according to Stringer, C.B. (1994). "Evolution of Early Humans". In Steve Jones, Robert Martin & David Pilbeam. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 242

Please rest assured that Ranganathan's ideas have no basis in scientific fact or a proper understanding of Sacred Scripture.
Hikarus
3 months ago
The picture is misleading.
Babu G. Ranganathan
3 months ago
NOT MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD! Evolutionary dating methods are not infallible and far from accurate. Please read my popular Internet article, ARE FOSSILS REALLY MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD?

Check out some of my Internet articles and sites: NATURAL LIMITS OF EVOLUTION, WAR AMONG EVOLUTIONISTS (2nd Edition), NO HALF-EVOLVED DINOSAURS, DOES GOD PARTICLE EXPLAIN UNIVERSE'S ORIGIN? THE SCIENCE SUPPORTING CREATION

Sincerely,
Babu G. Ranganathan*
(B.A. Bible/Biology)

Author of the popular Internet article, TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED FROM GREEK ROOTS

*I have given successful lectures (with question and answer period afterwards) defending creation before evolutionist science faculty and students at various colleges and universities. I've been privileged to be recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis "Who's Who in The East" for my writings on religion and science.

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment