Is that the lost city of Atlantis?

Whatever it is, this grid-like pattern of lines on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean is getting a lot of buzz these days — and it’s all made possible by the recently launched Google Ocean.

According to the Telegraph, a 38-year-old aeronautical engineer recently spotted the pattern off the coast of northwest Africa near the Canary Islands. The newspaper quotes archaeology experts who say it’s “one of the most prominent places for the proposed location of Atlantis.”

We’ve already covered Cool Sights In Google Street View, so if anyone is planning a similar article about cool sights seen in the new Google Ocean, your list begins here.

PostScript: PC World is running an article today in which Google says the image isn’t Atlantis, but just an artifact of the data collection process: “Bathymetric (or seafloor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the seafloor. The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data.” (Thx @neyne.)

PostScript #2: Google has also joined in formally with a very scientific explanation on the Official Google Blog.

Related Topics: Google: Earth

About The Author: Matt McGee is Search Engine Land's Executive News Editor, responsible for overseeing our daily news coverage. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. See more articles by Matt McGee

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