Scientists may have found 'Brazilian Atlantis'

Scientists believe they have located the legendary island of Atlantis - first mentioned by Plato in around 360BC - some 1,500 km from the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
Scientists from Brazil and Japan have found evidence of a continent that disappeared after Africa and South America separated 100 million years ago.
The discovery of granite, a rock formed on dry land, was announced by the Geology Service of Brazil (CPRM) as a sign of a lost continent, The Telegraph reported.
"This could be Brazil's Atlantis. We are almost certain, but we need to strengthen this hypothesis," said CPRM geology director Roberto Ventura Santos.

The material was reportedly found more than 8,000 feet beneath the sea in a region known as the Rio Grande Elevation.
It was discovered last year when geologists dredged the seabed. Underwater observations from Japan's manned mini-sub Shinkai 6500 yielded more reports of granite formations last month.

"It is unusual because it is granite rocks. And you don't find granite on the seabed. It is more usual to find it on the mainland," Santos told Brazilian newspaper Estadao.
Hiroshi Kitazato, the Japanese researcher who led the work for the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), said the region was of interest to researchers.

"This is the region that has been least explored worldwide. So, we believe it is very important to research it. Previously, the Shinkai carried out expeditions closer to Japan, the Indian and the Pacific Ocean," Kitazato said.
Scientists will now drill for more samples later this year.
"We speak of Atlantis more in terms of symbolism. Obviously, we don't expect to find a lost city in the middle of the Atlantic," Santos said.
"But if it is the case that we find a continent in the middle of the ocean, it will be a very big discovery that could have various implications in relation to the extension of the continental shelf," Santos added.