The snowy structure of the ice-locked continent has a striking resemblance to the great pyramids of Egypt – and has been the centre of eerie conspiracy theories.
5 A pyramid-like structure spotted in the Antarctic on Google EarthCredit: Google
5 View of Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica at midnightCredit: Alamy
5 Conspiracy theorists claim the mountain was made by aliens (computer-generated imagery)Credit: Getty
It was first discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913, but only became famous in 2016 when its eerie pictures went viral on the internet.
People from all around the world put forward their bizarre explanations to justify the shape of Antarctica’s pyramid mountain.
With a height of 4,150 feet, all four sides of the mountain are steep and appear to be in perfect symmetry.
The peak is part of the Ellsworth Mountains – the highest mountain range in Antarctica.
Soon the location of the mountain, which is 2,000 miles from its newest country New Zealand, became a hub for conspiracy theories.
Some said there used a be an ancient civilization once around the peak which was destroyed over the years.
Others simply claimed that the peak serves as a base station for aliens from around the universe.
Some history lovers even suggested it was part of a secret Nazi base built during World War 2.
One social media user said: “This structure belongs to the civilization which existed before the flood. Around 10,000 years ago Antarctica was warm.”
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Another commented: “Illuminati confirmed.”
Someone else asked: “Wait how did they move the pyramids from Egypt to Antarctica?”
However, mountain experts debunked all conspiracy theories after revealing the real reason why the mountain has a perfect pyramid shape.
Experts say that millions of years of erosion due to high winds have likely carved the sides of the mountain cliff, giving it a distinct pyramid shape.
Others suggest that the rocks underwent what they call freeze-thaw erosion.
Over time, water and snow can slip through cracks in the mountain rocks and freeze.
When they expand after becoming ice, they can force the gaps to grow larger, and the resulting pressure can force large chunks of the mountain to fall off.
Three of the pyramidal mountain’s sides appear to have eroded at the same rate, while the fourth side — the eastern ridge — formed independently, Live Science reports.
5 It is claimed the ‘pyramid’ has nearly perfectly symmetrical sidesCredit: YouTube
5 Conspiracy theorists have linked the pyramid bizarrely to aliens and even NazisCredit: Getty
Speaking to IFL Science, geologist Dr Mitch Darcy said: “The pyramid-shaped structures are located in the Ellsworth Mountains, which is a range more than 400 km long, so it’s no surprise there are rocky peaks cropping out above the ice.
“The peaks are clearly composed of rock, and it’s a coincidence that this particular peak has that shape.
“It’s not a complicated shape, so it’s not a special coincidence either. By definition, it is a nunatak, which is simply a peak of rock sticking out above a glacier or an ice sheet.
“This one has the shape of a pyramid, but that doesn’t make it a human construction.”
It comes after a volcano surrounded by a dark green forest left explorers baffled by its perfectly circular appearance.
The iconic Mount Taranaki volcano in New Zealand’s North Island is so striking, that it once doubled as Mount Doom in the “Lord of the Rings” and Mt Fuji in “The Last Samurai”.
The lonely, almost perfectly conical volcano sits in an eerily circular forest containing thousands of warped and ancient kamahi trees fighting for space.
The trees are extremely twisted and deformed as a result of having to grow over and around the fossilised remains of trees that were destroyed in past eruptions.
The trees are also covered in hanging mosses and liverworts, adding to their creepy appearance.
