Baltic Sea thing

{{ufology}}{{main|Unidentified submerged object}}
{{cquote|Ph'nglui mglw'nafh [[Cthulhu]] R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!}}
The '''Baltic Sea thing''' is an unusual structure, most probably natural, on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. It still has no "official" name. It has been called the '''Baltic (Sea) Anomaly''' by people who like the word "anomaly", and the '''Baltic Sea UFO''' by [[UFO]] nuts and tabloid journalists.

It was discovered in the summer of 2011 during a sonar survey of the sea floor by a team of marine treasure hunters looking for a wreck to 
pillage
 salvage. The sonar showed an unusually regular circular formation with a diameter of about 60 meters (200 feet).

Dives in 2012 found out that it was a stone dome resembling a mushroom.

The most likely explanation is some kind of rare natural structure, such as:
* Something analogous to a {{wpl|lava dome}}
* An inactive {{wpl|hydrothermal vent}}
* Glacial detritus from the last ice age, a {{wpl|moraine}} 

Various unlikely explanations have been also proposed:
* A {{wpl|Russian monitor Novgorod|round-hulled 19th century Russian ironclad ship}} (a "popovka"). This is right out, as only two were ever built and both ended up scrapped
* An extraterrestrial spaceship, though this was pretty much debunked by the 2012 dives which established that it was made of stone
* An extraterrestrial spaceship ''made of stone'' (Take that, skeptics!)
* A prehistoric archaeological site submerged due to rising sea levels (Unlikely, as the Baltic basin was heavily glaciated during the last ice age, thereby effacing any evidence of human occupation. The great weight of ice depressed the land mass so that it was replaced with water when the ice melted. Currently the Baltic basin is actually {{wpl|Post-glacial rebound|rising as it adjusts to the loss of overburden}} and sea level is therefore effectively falling.<ref>http://luonto.vaasa.fi/In_English/Nature/Land_uplift Nature Vaasa:Land Uplift]</ref>)
* A remnant of [[Atlantis|a prehistoric super-civilization]] (really unlikely)
* [[Cthulhu]]'s resting place (really, really unlikely<ref group=note>At the very least, it's in the wrong ocean. Unless he rises ''very'' suddenly and violently.</ref>)
==See also==
*[[Yonaguni Monument]]
==External links==
*[http://www.oceanexplorer.se/ Ocean X-Team's website]
*[http://cosmoquest.org/forum/showthread.php/118903-UFO-found-on-ocean-floor UFO found on ocean floor?], thread at the [[Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum]], started 29 July 2011
*[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093279/Shipwreck-hunters-mysterious-UFO-like-object-the-Baltic-Sea.html 'It's either the Millennium Falcon or a gateway to hell': Shipwreck hunters find mysterious object at bottom of Baltic Sea], the [[Daily Fail]]'s coverage, February 2012. They helpfully included a picture of the Millennium Falcon.
*[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2160297/Pictured-The-UFO-shaped-object-the-Baltic-Sea--covered-soot-little-fireplaces-lying-end-1-000ft-runway.html Pictured: The UFO-shaped object found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea... covered in soot, with 'little fireplaces' and lying at the end of a 1,000ft runway], the ''Daily Mail'' reporting speculation as fact for the umpteenth time, 18 June 2012
*{{wpa|Baltic Sea anomaly}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Ufology