Map of Atlantis. 19th-century map showing a conjectural depiction of a great landmass off north-western Africa, the legendary continent of Atlantis. Plato made the first written references to Atlantis in 360 BC. Legend has it that Atlantis was destroyed by a great flood and was submerged beneath the sea around 9600 BC. On this map, three Atlantic island groups are shown as tips of mountains remaining after Atlantis sunk. They are: the Azores (top left), the Canary Islands (upper left), and the Cape Verde Islands (lower left). This map is based on 'Essais sur les Iles Fortunees' (1804) by French naturalist Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778-1846).