The Pyramid in Antarctica Isn't Actually a Pyramid

Union Glacier camp is a seasonally occupied camp in deep field Antarctica. Â© Rod Strachan / Getty Images

Conspiracy theories surface around pretty much everything, especially on the internet. So when 2016 satellite imagery showed what appeared to be a pyramid in Antarctica that was large enough to be seen from outer space, people had questions.

Was Antarctica previously home to an ancient civilization? Did aliens create the structure? Does the familiar shape in unfamiliar terrain have anything to do with Pangea?

The answer is disappointingly logical.

Did Aliens Build a Pyramid at the South Pole?

A flying saucer hovering over a pyramid in the Antarctic — In case you didn't notice, this image is fake. Mark Stevenson/Stocktrek Images / Getty Images/Stocktrek Images

Although such theories are exciting to entertain, online sleuths did not find scientific evidence of an advanced, ancient (possibly extraterrestrial) civilization in the desolate snow and ice sheets of the South Pole.

The pyramid-shaped point is actually one of several peaks in the southern Ellsworth Mountains, a section of the Heritage Range named after the American aviator Lincoln Ellsworth. From Patriot Hills research base, you can see the now-famous "pyramid in Antarctica."

A Natural Coincidence

Snowcapped mountains and ice field in Antarctica, aerial view — We can see how people would mistake mountain peaks like this one for a pyramid. benedek / Getty Images

"It's just a mountain that looks like a pyramid," says Eric Rignot, a professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine.

As this professor of environmental science, climate scientists and most geology experts worth their halite will tell you, many peaks partially resemble human-built structures. Although rare, mountains that have developed right angles on one to two faces naturally are well-documented.

For example, this pyramid-shaped mountain likely developed its form from freeze-thaw erosion over hundreds of millions of years. Three symmetrical faces eroded at the same rate while the eastern ridge formed independently.

3 More Pyramidal Mountains

Here are some more pyramidal peaks that are sadly not the discovered remains of alien spaceships that crash-landed on Earth a million years ago.

1. Alpamayo, Peru

It is difficult to find a better example of natural beauty than the Cordilla Blanca mountain range in the Peruvian Andes. Although it is not the tallest mountain, this nearly 20,000-foot (6,100-meter) peak presents a unique angular glacial horn that closely mimics the pyramidal shape of Giza's ancient wonders.

2. Pyramid Mountain, British Columbia, Canada

This aptly named peak developed its pyramid-like sides through natural processes similar to those of the unnamed mountain in Antarctica. However, this Canadian peak is the product of a primordial "song of ice and fire," as volcanic eruptions contacted ice sheets, forming a subglacial mound.

3. Pyrin Mountain, Bulgaria

This mountain range is home to some of Europe's southernmost glaciers, which lends to similar freeze-thaw erosion.