No. 137

Yonaguni Monument

Where

Okinawa, Japan

Built by

Nature or people (debated)

Era

Disputed

Known for

Giant stepped rock terraces.

How it went under

Most geologists say it is natural; a few say people shaped it.

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Background

The Yonaguni Monument (Japanese: 与那国島海底地形, Hepburn: Yonaguni-jima Kaitei Chikei; lit. 'Yonaguni Island Seafloor Topography'), also known as the Yonaguni (Island) Submarine Ruins (与那国（島）海底遺跡, Yonaguni(-jima) Kaitei Iseki), is a submerged rock formation off the coast of Yonaguni, the southernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, in Japan. It lies approximately 100 kilometres (54 nmi; 62 mi) east of Taiwan.

Marine geologist Masaaki Kimura claims that the formations are man-made stepped monoliths. These claims have been described as pseudoarchaeological. Neither the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs nor the government of Okinawa Prefecture recognise the features as important cultural artifacts and neither government agency has carried out research or preservation work on the site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.