Bermuda Triangle, region of the western Atlantic Ocean that has become associated in the popular imagination with mysterious maritime disasters. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, the triangle-shaped area covers about 1,140,000 sq km (about 440,000 sq mi) between the island of Bermuda, the coast of southern Florida, and Puerto Rico..
The sinister reputation of the Bermuda Triangle may be traceable to reports made in the late 15th century by navigator Christopher Columbus concerning the Sargasso Sea, in which floating masses of gulfweed were regarded as uncanny and perilous by early sailors; others date the notoriety of the area to the mid-19th
century, when a number of reports were made of
unexplained disappearances and mysteriously
abandoned ships. The earliest recorded disappearance of a United States vessel in the area occurred in March 1918, when the USS Cyclops vanished. The incident that consolidated the reputation of the
Bermuda Triangle was the disappearance in December
1945 of Flight 19, a training squadron of five U.S.
Navy torpedo bombers. The squadron left Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, with 14 crewmen and disappeared after radioing a
series of distress messages; a seaplane sent in search of
the squadron also disappeared. Aircraft that
have disappeared
in the area since this incident include a DC-3 carrying
27 passengers in 1948 and a C-124 Globemaster with
53 passengers in 1951. Among the ships that have
disappeared was the tankership Marine Sulphur Queen,
which vanished with 39 men aboard in 1963.
Books, articles, and television broadcasts investigating
the Bermuda Triangle emphasize that, in the case
of most of the disappearances, the weather was
favorable, the disappearances occurred in daylight after
a sudden break in radio contact, and the vessels vanished
without a trace. However, skeptics point out that many
supposed mysteries result from careless or biased
consideration of data. For example, some losses attributed
to the Bermuda Triangle actually occurred outside the
area of the triangle in inclement weather conditions or in
darkness, and some can be traced to known mechanical
problems or inadequate equipment. In the case of Flight 19,
for example, the squadron commander was
relatively nexperienced, a compass was faulty, the
squadronfailed to follow instructions, and the aircraft
were operating under conditions of deteriorating weather
and visibility and with a low fuel supply. ther
proposed explanations for disappearances in the
Bermuda Triangle include the action of physical
forces unknown to science, a "hole in the sky," an
unusual chemical component in the region's seawater,
and abduction by extraterrestrial beings.
Scientific evaluations of the Bermuda Triangle
have concluded
that the number of disappearances in the region
is not abnormal and that most of the disappearances
have logical xplanations.
Paranormal associations with the Bermuda Triangle
persist in the public mind, however.
You won't find it on any official map and you won't
know when you cross the line, but according to some
people, the Bermuda Triangle is a very real place
where dozen of ships, planes and people have
disappeared with no good explanation.
Since a magazine first coined the phrase
"Bermuda Triangle" in 1964, the mystery has
continued to attract attention.
When you dig deeper into most cases,
though, they're much less mysterious.
Either they were never in the area to begin with,
they were actually found,
or there's a reasonable explanation for their
disappearance.
Does this mean there's nothing to the claims of so many
who have had odd experiences in the Bermuda Triangle?
Not necessarily. Scientists have documented deviations
from the norm in the area and have found some interesting
formations on the seafloor within the Bermuda Triangle's
boundaries. So, for those who like to believe in it, there is
plenty fuel for the fire.
In this article, we'll look at the facts surrounding what we
do know about the area as well as some of the most
commonly-recited stories. We'll also explore the bizarre
theories like aliens and space portals as well
as the mundane explanations.
Many think of the Bermuda Triangle, also known
as the Devil's Triangle, as an "imaginary" area.
The U. S. Board of Geographic Names does not
recognize the Bermuda Triangle
and does not maintain an official file on it. However,
within this imaginary area, many real vessels and the
people aboard them have seemingly disappeared
without explanation.
The Bermuda Triangle is located off the Southeastern
coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean,
with its apexes inthe vicinities of Bermuda, Miami,
Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It covers roughly
500,000 square miles.
The area may have been named after its Bermuda
apex since
Bermuda was once known as the "Isle of Devils."
Treacherous reefs that have ensnared ships
sailing too close to its shores surround Bermuda,
and there are hundreds of shipwrecks in the waters that surround it.
The Devils' Sea
Miyake Island, Japan
The Devil's Sea, also called the Formosa Triangle, is
located off the coast of Japan in a region of the Pacific
around Miyake Island, about 110 miles south of Tokyo.
Like the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil's Sea doesn't
appear on any official maps, but the name is used by
Japanese fishermen. The area is known for strange
disappearances of ships and planes - at least by those
in the United States.
Another myth is that, like the Bermuda Triangle,
the Devil's Sea is the only other area where a
compass points to true north rather than magnetic
north (more about this later).
One popular theory is that volcanic activity around the
area,paricularly an underwater volcano, could be
responsible for the disappearances.
The Bermuda Triangle Mystery
Over the past 100 years, the Bermuda Triangle has
seen what some say is a significant and inordinately
high number of unexplained disappearances of
planes, ships and people. Some reports say that as many
as 100 ships and planes have been reported missing
in the area and more than 1,000 lives have been lost.
The U.S. Coast Guard, however, maintains that the
area does not have an unusual number of incidents.
In 1975, Mary Margaret Fuller, editor of "Fate"
magazine, contacted Lloyd's of London for statistics on
insurance payoffs for incidents occurring within the
Bermuda Triangle's usually accepted boundaries.
According to Lloyd's records, 428 vessels were reported
missing throughout the world between 1955 and 1975,
and th ere was no greater incidence of events
occurring in the Bermuda Triangle than anywhere
else in the world.
Gian J. Quasar, author of "Into the Bermuda Triangle:
Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery"
and curator of Bermuda-triangle.org, argues that this
report "is completely false." Quasar reasons that because
Lloyd's does not insure small crafts like yachts and
often doesn't insure small charter boats or private aircraft,
its records can't be the definitive source. He also
states that the Coast Guard's records, which it publishes
annually, do not include "missing vessels." He
requested data on "overdue vessels" and received
(after 12 years of
asking)records of 300 missing/overdue vessels for the
previous two years. Whether those vessels ultimately
returned is unknown. His Web site has a list of these
vessels.
The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB)
database indicates (according to Gian J. Quasar) that
only a handful of aircraft have disappeared off the New
England coast over the past 10 years, while over 30
have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle.
The mystery of the Triangle probably took hold
with thefirst well-publicized disappearance in 1945,
when five Navy Avengers disappeared in the area.
The cause of the disappearance was originally
"pilot error," but family members of the pilot leading
the mission couldn't accept that he had made such
a mistake.Eventually they convinced the Navy
to change it to"causes or reasons unknown."
Is Insurance Higher in the Bermuda Triangle?
According to Norman Hooke, who conducted
marine casualty studies for Lloyd's Maritime
Information Services, based in London,
"The Bermuda Triangle does not exist."
He instead says that disappearances in the
Triangle are typically weather-related. So despite the
theories of why ships and planes disappear in the
area, insurance premiums are no higher than for
any other area of the ocean.
The myth gained momentum after reporter
E.V.W. Jones compiled a list of "mysterious
disappearances" of ships and planes between
the Florida coast and Bermuda.
Two years later, George X. Sand wrote
an article for "Fate" magazine, titled "Sea
Mystery at our Back Door." The article was about
a "series of strange marine disappearances, each
leaving no trace whatever, that have taken place
in thepast few years" in a "watery triangle bounded
roughly by Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico."
As more incidents occurred, the reputation grew
and past events were reanalyzed and added to the
legend. In 1964, "Argosy Magazine" gave the triangle
its name in an article titled "The Deadly Bermuda
Triangle" by Vincent Gaddis. Argosy magazine's
tagline a "magazine of master fiction," but that did
nothing to halt the spread of the myth. More articles,
books, and movies have appeared, suggesting theories
ranging from alien abductions to a giant octopus.
Plausible Theories about it
Most rational explanations for the incidents in
the Bermuda Triangle, including the explanations
given by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard,
include human error and environmental effects.
The area is one of the most highly trafficked for
amateur pilots and sailors, so more traffic leads
to more accidents and disappearances.
Weather Patterns and Topography
The area is subject to violent and unexpected
storms and weather changes. These short but
intense storms can build up quickly, dissipate
quickly, and go undetected by satellite surveillance.
Waterspouts that could easily destroy a passing
plane or ship are also not uncommon. A waterspout
is simply a tornado at sea that pulls water from the
ocean surface thousands of feet into the sky.
Other possible environmental effects include
underwater earthquakes, as scientists have found
a great deal of seismic activity in the area. Scientists
have also spotted freak waves up to 100 feet high.
Sea surface roughness in the Gulf Stream,
captured by NASA's Terra satellite on April 18, 2004.
The underwater topography of the area may
also be a factor. It goes from a gently sloping
continental shelf to an extremely deep drop-off.
In fact, some of the deepest trenches in the world are
found in the area of the Bermuda Triangle.
Ships or planes that sink into these deep trenches
will probably never be found.
The Gulf Stream, where the Triangle is located,
is extremely swift and turbulent. It can pose extreme
navigational challenges, especially for inexperienced
sailors. The Gulf Stream has been reported to
move faster than 5 mph in some areas -
more than fast enough to throw sailors hundreds
of miles off course if they don't compensate correctly
for the current. It can also quickly erase any evidence
of a disaster.
Methane Gas Hydrates
This theory appears to hold promise for at least some
of the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle.
Scientists at Cardiff University have discovered
the presence of large concentrations of methane gas
trapped in the ocean floor. This gas is due to dying
and decomposing sea organisms. The sediment
contains bacteria that produce methane, which
accumulates as super concentrated methane ice,
called gas hydrates. The layer of ice traps the
methane gas, and scientists are studying it as a
potential energy source.
Crystalline methane hydrate deposits
Within seconds of a methane gas pocket rupturing,
the gas surges up and erupts on the surface without
warning. If a ship is in the area of the blowout, the
water beneath it would suddenly become much less
dense. The vessel could sink and sediment could quickly
cover it as it settles onto the sea floor. Even planes
flying overhead could catch fire during such a blowout.
Although he doesn't agree with the methane hydrate theory
as an explanation for the Bermuda Triangle, Bill Dillon,
a research geologist with the United States Geological
Survey said that, "On several occasions, oil drilling rigs
have sunk as the result of [methane] gas escape."
Pirates
While historical pirates like Blackbeard or the fictional
Captain Jack Sparrow of "Pirates of the Caribbean"
may not be likely candidates for disappearances, modern
pirates might be. In the 1970s and '80s, drug runners often
pirated boats to smuggle drugs. This theory could also
bear some truth during wartime. Check out How Pirates
Work for more information about piracy and real-life pirates.
The U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill follows a suspected
pirate vessel in 2006.
Although these theories (among others) probably
account for disappearances in the area known as the
Bermuda Triangle, many people still prefer to believe
that aliens, electronic fog or another supernatural
phenomenon must be the cause. As long as those t
heories exist, the Bermuda Triangle will remain a
source of fascination and mystery.
 |
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
