Bermuda Triangle:
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Where is Bermuda Triangle found?
The Bermuda triangle is located off the South-Eastern coast of United States in the Atlantic Ocean. As you can see in the picture below, the area is bounded by Miami (in Florida, USA), San Juan (in Puerto Rico), and the north-Atlantic island Bermuda. This is the simplest and most popular definition of the triangle location as per most writers and researchers. Each side of the triangle is roughly about 1000 miles long.
Bermuda Triangle Theory:
Howard, an expert on Bermuda Triangle, claims that more than 50 ships and 20 planes have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle over the last century itself, and up to 1000 over the past 500 years. So how did the planes and ships disappear? What went wrong? Actually there is no single theory that can explain all disappearances. The planes and ships have been victims of different circumstances & situations while cruising over the vast triangle area and were in different physical locations. And therefore there are several theories that explain the different incidents of missing ships and planes in Bermuda Triangle. Here are some of the top and most popular theories that try to explain and solve the mysteries.
· Methane Gas Theory
A large amount of methane gas is known to exist below the ocean floor trapped in the sediments in the form of methane hydrates. If such gas finds its way out and starts rising through the water, it can significantly reduce the density of water in that area. And ships passing over that area can sink in no time. Such gas release can also create explosions and saturate the atmosphere with methane gas causing planes to crash. Check out Methane Gas Theory for details.
· Gulf Stream:
A lot of theories regarding the Bermuda Triangle disappearances revolve around the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is a major ocean current that runs from the Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic through the Straits of Florida. This current driven by thermohaline circulation acts more like a river than an ocean, by achieving the speeds of 2.5 meters per second. Any wreckage debris or even an aircraft that had to make emergency water landing here could easily be pulled miles away from its reported position in a matter of minutes. Making things worse are some of the world’s deepest trenches which lie beneath these waters, some as deep as 28,000 feet. One may imagine that should something fall to these depths, it would indeed disappear forever!
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Unusual Seafloor
The seafloor in Bermuda Triangle area is also found to be quite strange. There are some unusual formations. From a gentle slope, it takes a sudden deep drop. In fact, some of the deepest trenches in the world are found in this area. Ships or planes that sink into these deep trenches will probably never be found.
Compass Variation
Do you know that magnetic and absolute North are not the same? Which means that the north where a compass points and the absolute geographic north which is the North Pole are different. So ships need to make an adjustment for this difference to keep to the right direction. But in Bermuda Triangle, there is a narrow strip where both these North's become the same. Some claim that such Compass Variation could have been the cause for fatal accidents as ships failed to determine the correct direction.
Supernatural Theories
There are also explanations based on some supernatural theories like the lost city of Atlantis, UFOs and Aliens. Check out Supernatural Theories to know about such explanations that try to explain the disappearances.
And, there are many more explanations...
Strange magnetic fields from the bottom of the ocean causing the compass to malfunction, pirates capturing ships, explosive cargo destroying vessels etc. are also believed to be other causes. Another possibility is underwater earthquakes. Scientists have actually observed a great deal of seismic vibrations taking places in the Bermuda triangles areas and under the seafloors.
Bermuda Triangle incident of disappearance:
Over the past centuries, many ships and air planes have disappeared or met with fatal accidents in the triangular area on Atlantic ocean known as Bermuda Triangle. In several cases, no trace of the ships and aircraft were found even after thorough search operations were carried out for hundreds and thousands of square miles in the ocean. Such incidents of disappearances have been known since the 1400s and have continued even in the 21st century. While there are various explanations and theories behind such incidents, in many cases the incidents have remained unexplained.
· 1492 - Christopher Columbus reported strange lights and strange compass readings.
· 1609 - The Sea Venture got wrecked near the eastern end of Bermuda Island. The commander of the fleet Sir George Somers and his crew came ashore and were the first to start the human settlement in the island.
· 1814 - The USS Epervier and her crew disappeared while carrying the peace treaty to end the war between America and the North African Barbary States
· 1872 - Mary Celeste: Known as one of the ghost ships of Bermuda Triangle, Mary Celeste had many misadventures even before her mystery voyage in 1872. Find out the full story.
· 1881 - The Ellen Austin on its voyage in 1881 came across another ship that was sailing without a single soul on board. Ellen Austin transferred some of its crew onto the other ship and attempted to sail with it to New York. The other ship suddenly disappeared. Later it re-appeared, but again without a person on board. Then it again disappeared without a trace.
· 1918 - USS Cyclops: This navy ship disappearance resulted in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy. It went missing without a trace with a crew of 309, sometime after March 4th, 1918 and after departing the island of Barbados.
· 1945 - Flight 19: They were training aircraft of TBM Avenger bombers of US Navy that went missing on Dec 5, 1945, while flying over the Atlantic. They were scheduled to go due to east from Florida Naval base for 120 miles, then north for 73 miles, and then get back over a final 120-mile route that would return them to the naval base. But strangely they never came back. Adding to the mystery, two rescue Martin Mariner aircraft with the 13-man crew were sent to search for the missing flights. But one of the Martin Mariners itself did not return and was never traced again.
· 1945 - PBM Martin Mariner: Two Martin Mariner planes were sent on the 5th of December 1945 to search for the Flight-19. One did not return. Find out the full story.
1947 - The C-54 Aircraft: Apparently it would seem to be a sudden thunderstorm that would have disintegrated the C-54 plane. But there was much more to the story.
· 1948 - Tudor Star Tiger: A Tudor Mark IV aircraft disappeared in Bermuda Triangle shortly before it was to land in Bermuda airport in January 1948.
· 1948 - Fight DC-3 Disappearance: The flight Douglas DC-3 NC16002 disappeared in Bermuda Triangle when it was only 50 miles south of Florida and about to land in Miami on December 28, 1948.
· 1954 - Flight 441 Disappearance: The flight 441, a Super Constellation Naval Airliner, disappeared in Bermuda Triangle on October 30, 195
· 1963 - Marine Sulphur Queen: This 524-foot carrier of molten sulphur started sail Feb 2, 1963, from Beaumont, Texas with 39 crew. It was reported lost in Florida Straits on Feb 4.
· 1967 - Witchcraft: A 23-foot cabin cruiser went missing forever in Bermuda Triangle area on the night of December 22, 1967. The owner took it offshore only to watch the lights of Miami shoreline.
· 1968 - USS Scorpion: USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Nuclear powered submarine of United States Navy that disappeared in Bermuda Triangle in May 1968.
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