Google: Look, Google Ocean Didn't Find Atlantis, OK?

Behold the power of Google Ocean, seemingly the solver of ancient mysteries—at least before Google itself puts rumors to rest.

A British newspaper, The Sun, reported on Friday that Google Earth's ocean-mapping feature, Google Ocean, had turned up an image thought by some to be the lost city of Atlantis, complete with a rectangular grid and what looks like roadways.

The newspaper even listed coordinates—31 15'15.53N 24 15'30.53 W—and described the geographic location as being 620 miles off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean, the location "seemingly suggested by the ancient philosopher Plato."

Bernie Bamford, an aeronautical engineer from Chester, England, was the one who spotted the grid while browsing Google Ocean, and he told the Sun, "It looks like an aerial map of Milton Keynes. It must be man-made."

Is it for real?

"Even if it turns out to be geographical, this definitely deserves a closer look," said New York State Museum archeologist Dr. Charles Orser to the Sun.

But according to a Google statement quoted in the Sun and other reports, oceangoers shouldn't be planning their new lives under the sea just yet:

"It's true that many amazing discoveries have been made in Google Earth, including a pristine forest in Mozambique that is home to previously unknown species and the remains of an ancient Roman villa. In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor."

If Google Earth and Google Ocean can get the tech community to speculate about Atlantis this intensely, maybe Google Earth browsers should get cracking on the Loch Ness monster, El Dorado and Santa Claus' workshop. Or, at the very least, more 1.2-ton pot busts in remote locations. .