History Main / LostWorld

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'', the heroes discover a region full of dinosaurs. Not only do they escape it, but they have its location definitely recorded and make it into a FantasticNatureReserve.

* Subverted a bit in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' where the heroes find a Lost World region full of dinosaurs. However, not only do they escape it, but they have its location definitely recorded and make it an one of a kind of wildlife tourist attraction.

They are usually found in remote locations, such as the center of large and barely explored continents (like DarkestAfrica or UsefulNotes/TheAmazonRainforest), the polar ice caps, or mysterious islands. They are often home to [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis lost civilizations]] with amazing LostTechnology, or to [[LivingDinosaurs prehistoric animals that have managed to survive unchanged]] -- aside from the fact that they [[PrehistoricMonster suddenly find humans delicious]]. Some Lost Worlds are [[EverythingTryingToKillYou almost ludicrously dangerous]] and populated by fearsome monsters, and still others are {{Magical Land}}s where AllMythsAreTrue. Prone to being destroyed by [[ApocalypseHow volcanic eruptions, floods, quakes, and/or bombs]] [[CataclysmClimax at the end of the book/film/series]], with the protagonists barely escaping.

** "Gorilla City", with its own phlebotinum ("invisible force fields") used to hide it, and populated by ''telepathic apes''. It's appeared on TV in both ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''.
** "Skartaris"[[note]]Named after the volcano through which Creator/JulesVerne's adventurers made their ''Journey to the Center of the Earth''[[/note]] (a world located within the hollow Earth, accessible through a portal in the Arctic wilderness), which is the setting of Mike Grell's ''ComicBook/TheWarlordDC'' (though other DC Universe characters would visit there from time to time as well). An episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' is set there. It was later {{retcon}}ned into being AnotherDimension.

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sentinel_Island North Sentinel Island]]. Though known of since the 18th century by other inhabitants of the Andaman Islands and by others since the 19th century, very little is actually known about the island and its inhabitants, the Sentinelese people, who to this day remain one of the most isolated uncontacted peoples in the world. The Sentinelese are extremely hostile to outsiders, such that the Indian government (which has ''de jure'' control of the island, though in practice they are autonomous) arrests anyone who goes anywhere near the island for their own safety. Anthropologists have never been able to travel to the island to study the Sentinelese and their culture, and probably won't anytime soon. As recently as 2018, someone who violated this ban (the American Christian missionary John Chau) was killed by the Sentinelese.

[[caption-width-right:300:"Look, Uncle Scrooge! [[Film/JurassicPark They do move in herds!]]"]]

* The ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' films (a man-made example). The first sequel is actually titled ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' and its plot borrows a lot from Conan Doyle's novel. Also subverted by this series. Both islands can be found on maps, and Isla Sorna is accessible by boat. The islands are explicitly made that way. They were normal tropical islands until dinosaur theme parks and a dinosaur breeding facility were built on them. They were only "lost" after the project was abandoned/dinosaurs ate and killed everything.
** Similarly, the distant sequel ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' features an isolated area in the Dolomites mountain range that is turned into a sanctuary for wild dinosaurs that have been released on the mainland in the previous film and recaptured in the interim. It is only accessible by plane. It too ends up becoming "lost" after a fire forces the keepers to abandon their facility to the dinosaurs so they'll have a chance to escape from it.
* Film/KingKong's home, which is generally referred to as Skull Island. In the [[Film/KingKong1933 original film]], the island was never named, although its most recognizable feature, Skull Mountain, was named; likewise in the [[Film/KingKong1976 '70s remake]], the only reference is to "the beach of the skull".
** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' justifies the island's Lost World status with a gigantic storm raging around its shores at all times, making it hard to see and harder to navigate to. The film is set in 1973, just as satellite photos first pinpoint the island's location, and a few military helicopters are able to make it through the storm.
** Taken a step further in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'', where Kong travels to the [[HollowWorld Hollow Earth]], which is even wilder and stranger than Skull Island.

* Fittingly enough, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181111025113/http://www.lost-world.com/ingen/index.html this website]] promoting Jurassic Park II was still chugging along for many years, showcasing web design straight out of the age of AOL, complete with animated GIF intro page and image tile background. The website was eventually taken down in 2020, but archives of it are still available to scroll through.

* The continent of Mu, first proposed by one Augustus Le Plongeon after misinterpreting recently translated Mayan texts. Supposedly existed in the middle of the Pacific and home to the Naacal civilization.

* Hyperborea, an ancient lost kingdom located on the north pole. Nowadays often associated with ThoseWackyNazis and other wackjobs.

* The continent of Mu.

* Hyperborea, an ancient lost kingdom located on the north pole.

* Fittingly enough, [[http://www.lost-world.com/Lost_World02/inGENe.html this website]] promoting Jurassic Park II was still chugging along for many years, showcasing web design straight out of the age of AOL, complete with animated GIF intro page and image tile background. As of 2020 this is no longer the case, making the page “extinct”.

* ''Manga/CageOfEden'' takes place on an island populated with anachronistic monsters. Birds from fifty million years ago, wolves from ten thousand years ago...and they all want to kill the humans.

* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse:
** Distills this trope into a place known as the "Savage Land." It is a tropical jungle ''in the middle of [[MysteriousAntarctica Antarctica]]'' filled with strange creatures, prehistoric beasts, warrior tribes, incredible civilizations and other great pulpy stuff. It was in fact created by aliens as a commission to aliens from a higher dimension.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': The Great Crater of Paldea contains one of these, known as Area Zero. It is [[ForbiddenZone regarded as exceedingly dangerous]], and almost nothing is known about it as a result. It contains wonders so fantastic that the Ancient Empire of Paldea bankrupted itself over centuries funding failed expeditions to try and obtain some, forcing itself to merge with its neighbors out of an act of self-preservation to form the modern Paldea region. Among the wonders are [[PowerUpFood Herba Mystica]] that can fully heal a Pokémon on death's door that even Pokémon Centers are unable to help. It also contains powerful and dangerous [[ParadoxPerson Paradox Pokémon]], Pokémon from the prehistoric past and Pokémon from the distant future, as well as the [[AppliedPhlebotinum crystals]] that allow Pokémon to [[SuperMode Terastallize]].

* ''Literature/TalesOfKaimere'': The Known World of Kaimere is already home to many strange animals compared to Earth (including LivingDinosaurs, semi-aquatic Hyaenodons, giant ground sloths, and intelligent flightless pterosaurs) that are descendants of [[TransplantedAliens Earth animals harvested by the endogenous singe-cell life]]. However, in regions far from the Portal's range, stranger animals from much older lineages can be found.

** To the South of the Known World is Kairul, a polar continent where a powerful creature in the inland forest has forced all life to be silent. [[spoiler:The dominant predators of the island are part of a branch of tetrapods distinct from ammionites and amphibians and evolved solely on Kaimere since the first harvests]].