A mythical place is a place that does not really exist but is accepted folk lore or speculation that it it might exist or might have existed in earlier times but its actual location is now lost. Unlike fictional places, which are only used in fictional writings, mythical places are often considered un(re)discovered places in the real world. While they may appear in fictional stories, there is often some scientific, historical or archeological evidence, as well as myths and legends that indicate such places may have existed or are awaiting discovery, rediscovery or at least explanation about their location.
Some examples of mythical places are:
- Atlantis - The mythical lost continent, some believe it might only be a small greek island that was the subject of a volcanic eruption.
- Avalon
- Camelot
- Hawaiiki - The ancestral island of the polynesians, particularly the Maori.
- Lemuria
- Lyonesse
- Mu
- Terra Australis Incognita - or the great unknown southern land that catographers believed occupied most of the southern hemisphere, before Captain James Cook discovered and circumnavigated Australia and New Zealand and Antarctica.
- Waikikamukau - an isolated place allegedly in New Zealand.
- Ys in Brittany, France
