In this chapter a number of coincidences between South America and Atlantis are investigated, showing that South America matches literally Plato's description even in the smallest details

 We already rad how Plato paid attention giving us the geographical details of Atlantis. Thanks to them we discovered that Atlantis is nothing but South America. Anyway we're going to see how strong this corrispondence is.

In the Timaeus and Critias we gather some general information about Atlantis and some details on its rectangular plateau where the ringed capital city flourished next to. Expecially the plain must be analyzed in a closer sight. We're going to schedule all the features given by Platono and to verify them in the Altiplano of Bolivia, that, in our opinion, it's the same thing.

 As we can see, we found in the Altiplano all the details given by the Critias. Atlantis' plain dimensions where 531x354 kms while, more or less, the actual size of the rectangular part of the Altiplano measures 416x277 kms. It's meaningful that the proportions between the sides (2:3) are the same even if something concerning the absolute measurements seems a little wrong. It can be comprehensive since the tale of Atlantis might have been changed a bit from a generation to another before being completely written.

Another important detail is Plato statement that the plain laid on the centre of the island. The pilosopher didn't specify if it was the geometric centre of the island or if it was between North and South or West and East. concerning that the translation of Desmond Lee can be useful since it stated it was on a side in the centre. Actually the Altiplano is perfectly between North and South in the side of the Andes. Then we must notice that if the plateau mentioned by Plato was in the geometric middle of the island, hardly enough mountains could fall overhanging the sea, being surrounded by dry land. Admitting that the rectangular plateau was in the geometic centre would mean it engaged most of the island or at least it was the island itself, but that is impossible since Plato gave us other geographical details which refer to other regions of the island (forests and rivers, for example, engaged a good part of Atlantis like in South America and they weren't certainly in the plain).

It's obvious that the plateau of Atlantis had an inland sea. Plato didn't tell us explicitly but just suggested it saying the capital city (which was at the same altitude of the plateau) communicated with a sea through a canal and so this sea was a mirror of water laying nearby, still high from the sea level.  

Another important poin is the presence of canals. concernig Atlantis Plato wrote they were placed in order to give shape to a perfect grid in the plateau, which was surrounded on all sides by one main giant canal. Actually a trait of canal with the same measurements given by Plato has been discovered. It lays on the Altiplano for some hundreths meters before going underground. Likely enough even other canals, like the capital city, lay beneath the ground thanks to the mud and detritus brought by the floodings which happened in the Altiplano12,000 years ago and that temporally changed the plateau in a sea. All other elements of the previous table find conprehensively confirmation in the Altiplano.

We can do now another comparison between the general features of Atlantis and South America. even in this case we can sum up all by filling a table with the features of Atlantis and the possible corrispondence of South America.

  In the overall computation features verified to be right (V) give 1 point; those which have been verified uncorrect (X) give -1 points and uncertain ones (?)  0 points.

There can be few doubts concerning the huge dimensions of Atlantis, being clearly bigger than Asia and Lybia togheter. During Plato's times these areas where respectively Asia Minor and the known North Africa (from Gibraltar up to Egypt). Then the amazing (qualitative and quantitative)  richness of Atlantis about mineral resources, animals and plants can esaily be associated to a giant area that can contain all that variety. andes could be aright example of such richness, since they had the greatest cooper mines of the world, fine gold mines (think to the quantity of gold found in the palaces of Incas, that sursprised Spanish conquerers), silver, tin, tungsten, manganese and so on. There is abundance for all the metals used by Atlanteans.

We aren't afraid of the fact that South America didn't sink like Atlantis: we already said that is phisically impossible such area can sink and that doesn't suggest that instead Atlantis was an island as big as its plateau, since it'd be still an area too big for being flooded by waters. In the last table there is an element that can give a strong trust to the theory of South America. Plato, describing some fruits, paid attantion over a particular one:

 "and the fruit having a hard rind, affording drinks and meats and ointments"

 It really looks like the description of the coconut. Of course this fruit wasn't known in the ancient Mediterranean civilizations and it wasn't cultivated there. Instead we know that this fruit had origin in the american continent. If it had been a Mediterranean fruit Plato would have wrote the name or maybe the name became lost in the sources Plato copied. From the description seems really the coconut.

Anyway there are still some doubtful elements, like a possible sacrifice of the bull among the people of the Andes. It's hard to say since bull wasn't native of Americas. Then Incas, arising their empire, cancealed some old myths of native tribes and civilizations of the Andes saving just few aspects of their habits. Later things got even worse since catholics forbade Incas' culture to be exported and burnt lot of their books. Anyway there are some clues of bull worship in South America: at Chavin de Huantar they worshipped the god Bull, which was considered a mystical figure, and near Titicaca (among the indian communities of Puno and Pucara)  they worshipped the bull ( J.C. Spahni, Lieux de culte precolombies).The sources of cold and hot water look like an artificial work of engineering and we should find the entire ringed city before verifying their presence.

The crucial question mark is the ringed capital city. curiously enough there is an old Inca's myth about a city that was placed near Titicaca lake. This city was destroyed for willing of gods and just priests, who already predicted the catastrophe, found safeness in the peaks of mountains. Actually Jim Allen explored a small hill near Pamapas Aullagas, few miles far from Poopò lake. For the moment the presence of circular-like sandy canals has been found.

Now we shall discuss about some elements of Plato's dialogues that always puzzle people very much.

The end of Atlantis. We already told that likely enough Plato (or people before him) mistook the island for the homonimous capital city. Only the latter was flooded. Beyond all the other disasters that occurred were earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Andes are nexto the edge of a tectonic plaque, which is a source for earthquakes and volcanic activity (1) as shown in the map by red points. The latter increment cluds density and consequently the rains. The awakening of a strong volcanic activity in the Andes, due to earthquakes, can lead to abundant rains.

The Pillars of Heracles. At school they taught us they were, in the opinion of ancient civlizations up to the Medioeval age, the strait of Gibraltar, which pointed out the end of the known world. Probably thanks to Carthaginians a lot of legends born about the sea outside the pillars, because they found fine economic respurces (Azores, or even the Caribbean islands) and they wished to hide them to other people. Lot of people still debate on the correct identification of such coloumns and many people, when they speak about Atlantis, put them anywhere thus making Plato's account really contradictory . In the Critias and Timaeus seems clear the pillars of Heracles are the actual strait of Gibraltar:

 "for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance" (Timaeus)

 In the last sentence the sea inside the pillars is compared to the one which lays outside, called Atlantic Ocean, and, in Plato's opinions, really big. Isn't that the comparison we can do between Mediterranean Sea and actual Atlantic Ocean: isn't the first an harbour with a narrow entrance? The extension of the island of Atlantis doesn't give any change to the pillars to be inside the Mediterranean sea. Then Plato also wrote:

 "the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia" (Timaeus)  

 We know that Atlantis was coming from West  to East and already conquered some countries which were inside the Pillars like they are for Gibraltar. Going on we found some other evidence in the Critias :

 "To his twin brother, who was born after him, and obtained as his lot the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles, facing the country which is now called the region of Gades in that part of the world, he gave the name which in the Hellenic language is Eumelus, in the language of the country which is named after him, Gadeirus" (Critias)

 Gades was an ancient city of Phoenicians and embraced the region in the mouth of the Gualdaquivir in Spain.. So, if Atlantis was in front of Spain, there can't be any doubt Plato (and his sources) really mean the strai of Gibraltar .On the other hand other pieces of the dialogues say Lybia has a part inside the Pillars and a part outside them. Since Lybia was the whole North Africa, from Marocco up to Egypt it's clear the pillars can still be at Gibraltar .The idea the pillars can be in other parts of the world (like Indonesia) is, of course, out of discussion. In the section concerning the history of Atlantis there are some quotes of ancient writers about the Pillars of Heracles and of some possible islands outside them. Crom their opinions and considerations it really looks like they're speaking about gibraltar, try it. People who locate the Pillars of Heracles in a pdifferent place from Gibraltar must be able to explain reasonably the meaning of the pieces of dialogues we reported above, but they can have a clean relationship only with Gibraltar. Brave people can try to deny that...

Atlantis dimensions. here, as before, there are few problems. Plato clearly gave us these details

 “the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together”  (Timaeus)

 “...by the kings of Atlantis, which, as was saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia” (Critias)

 Asia was the actual Asia Minor. It's evident Plato is alluding to the geographical size of the island were the kings of Atlantis ruled . He told that two times in two different dialogues. Sometimes people use to explain that Plato  (or people after him) mistook the greek words "mezon" and "meson" so that he wrote "greater" instead of “in the middle”. So Atlantis would be, thanks to this mistake, at Crete. It's really strange that such a mistake can occur two times in two different occasions. Not only: it'd be impossible for Atlantis being at the same time in front of spain and between Lybia and Asia. Other people just say that the actual translations of the dialogues are wrong. Yes, in their opinion we've been translating Greek like donkeys' do up to now. The size of Atlantis was effectively the one give n by Plato since even the first ancient readers of the dialogues were amazed by the size of Atlantis. and of course they could read the original dialogues of Plato without any need of translation... Artistotle for example refuted Atlantis because it was too big! 

Other people say it was the entire empire of Atlantis (not only the main island) bigger than Lybia and Asia inor put togheter: there is no evidence of that since Plato always refers to an "island" where ten kings ruled. Other opinions point out that the dialogues intended that the power of Atlantis was greater than Lybia and Asia and not its' geographical size. Read what Plato wrote and comment such opinion...