Mu, a mythical lost continent in the Pacific Ocean Shangri-La, a fictitious valley in Tibet the idea of which may have been inspired by the myth of Shambhala Quivira and Cibola, also known as the Seven Cities of Gold. These were suspected somewhere in America by the Conquistadors. El Dorado, mythic city of gold. Ys, a mythical drowned city in Brittany, similar to other Celtic lost lands in Welsh and Cornish tradition. Most versions of the legend place the city in the Baie de Douarnenez. Phantom islands Phantom islands, as opposed to lost lands, are land masses formerly believed by cartographers to exist in the historical age, but to have been discredited as a result of expanding geographic knowledge. Terra Australis is a phantom continent. While a few phantom islands originated from literary works (e.g., Ogygia from Homer's Odyssey), most phantom islands are the result of navigational errors. In literature and philosophy The following individuals are known for having written on the subject of lost lands (either as fiction, hypothesis, or supposed fact): H.P. Blavatsky Edgar Rice Burroughs (The Land That Time Forgot, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar, At the Earth's Core) James Churchward Henry Corbin (Malakut or Hurqalya) Ignatius L. Donnelly Burak Eldem Warren Ellis Philip José Farmer H. Rider Haggard Robert E. Howard (Hyborian Age) Édouard Lalo (Le roi d'Ys) H. P. Lovecraft often invoked the names of lost lands of his own invention, a practice that subsequently gave birth to the Cthulhu mythos. Geoffrey of Monmouth first mention of Avalon in his Historia Regum Britanniae Plato Augustus Le Plongeon Zecharia Sitchin J. R. R. Tolkien partially based the story of Númenor, referenced in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, on Atlantis. Jack Vance (Lyonesse Trilogy) Samael Aun Weor Umberto Eco (Island of the Day Before) See also Flood myth Lost city Lost world Vanishing island Tidal island References Further reading L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley, Lands Beyond, Rinehart & Co., New York, 1952. L. Sprague de Camp, Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature, Dover Publications, 1970. Geography-related lists Lost ancient cities and towns Ancient astronomy Historical geology Plate tectonics