LOCATION: About six miles off the coast of Malibu's Point Dume, in California

BACKSTORY: For decades, reports of UFO (unidentified flying object) and USO (unidentified submerged object) sightings along the Malibu coast have been fairly common. Rumors of an alien base, or portal, in this area are nothing new, but in recent years, they have come to the fore within the UFO research community. The attention, specifically to this location, is largely due to reports of a stadium-shaped "structure" about 2,000 feet underwater, widely known as Sycamore Knoll. Some refer to it as an anomaly while others believe is an alien base. It's believed to be between two-and-a-half and three-miles wide.

In 2014, radio personality Jimmy "Captain of Conspiracy" Church brought the matter up on his show Fade to Black, referring to the area as a "hub of USO/UFO activity going back 40 years." Church questioned whether it could be natural or proof of an entrance to something inland—perhaps another Area 51 (the massive aircraft-testing facility in the Nevada desert that has long been the subject of UFO theories and investigations, even after more solid explanations were provided by the government)—or something not yet considered. He said it was "potentially the biggest breaking story in ufology since Area 51."

But not everyone in the UFO research community was convinced. Robert Stanley, a UFO researcher and the editor of Unicus magazine, the self-described "magazine for earthbound extraterrestrials," reports having noticed this mysterious spot via Google Earth several years prior to Church's announcement, but says he didn't report it publicly as he was unable to substantiate its authenticity.

Stanley says he doesn't know what the anomaly is, but he does offer a few thoughts. "It feels like a red herring," he says. "This is some sort of weird distraction. It may be because Point Mugu [which is nearby] is a very large, powerful naval base that they don't want people to think of in terms of [it being a] secret military base."

Preston Dennett, another UFO researcher and author of more than 20 books on paranormal and supernatural phenomena, is less skeptical. He’s believed in the alien base theory for years. "I was convinced there was something there before this Malibu anomaly was publicized," he says.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: Opinions are mixed about what the anomaly could be. Is it an alien base? Is it a government-created distraction? Or is it just the shape of the underwater terrain in the depths of the Pacific?

Stanley stands firm on his nope-to-an-alien-base stance. "A lot of people are under the false impression that there's a UFO base there," he says. "Now that doesn't mean that there aren't UFOs there. I've seen them myself—on many occasions. But just because UFOs are seen there, that doesn't mean that that is a UFO base under the water."

And here's his reasoning: "[UFOs] are coming in and out of portals, star gates or wormholes. They don't need massive bases under the water or under the ground. I'm not saying there aren't any, but they don't need them because they can just pop in and out of our skies anytime they want, anywhere they want, as far as I can tell."

Dennett approaches the topic from the other side, saying, "I've collected probably 50 or 100 reports of people who have seen UFOs going in and out of the water there." Still, he expresses some doubt: "My problem is that the Google images are coming out different, depending on what viewpoint you're looking at this thing from. Some show a tunnel. Some don't."

While he acknowledges he hasn't gone down to explore the structure, Dennett remains optimistic about it being something extraterrestrial. "I'm very intrigued by the possibility," he says. "I'm convinced there's something down there."

LEARN MORE: Among the many discussions of this mysterious area over the years, Dennett's and Stanley's coverage remain at the forefront.

Dennett's 1999 book UFOs Over Topanga Canyon addresses accounts of UFO sightings from the Malibu area in general, and he presented the possibility of the underwater anomaly being a base as far back as 2006, when Fate magazine published his article "Is There an Underwater UFO Base off the Southern California Coast?,” where he cited several witness accounts and opinions.

In several articles for Unicus, including "Who Discovered the So-Called Malibu UFO Base?" and "Digital Deception in the Pacific: There is No 'UFO Base' off the Coast of Malibu," Stanley has made his position clear as well.

SEE FOR YOURSELF: Take a look at Google Earth coordinates 34° 1'23.31"N 118° 59'45.64"W. If that's not close enough, and you happen to have access to a boat and high-powered underwater-research equipment, you can explore yourself. Let us know what you find!

Join the guys as they dive deep for adventure. Watch the full episode now!