The Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle
How the Bermuda Triangle Works
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 in the 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.
Pirates and Methane Gas Do Exist, But Atlantis?
As a kid, reveled in the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, pouring over literature that told of ghost ships, of planes disappearing forever, of instruments going haywire. As an adult, with images from my youth clear in my head, I’ve spent much time within the boundaries of the dreaded Triangle, a swath of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, South Florida and Puerto Rico. Besides Bermuda, most of the 700-plus islands that make up the Bahamas fall within the Triangle. I have scuba dived the Bimini Road, an underwater rock formation near the Bahamas, explored the wreck-strewn waters off Bermuda and even sailed into the triangle on numerous occasions. Am I lucky to be alive? What’s true? What makes up the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle? Let’s discuss.
Extra TerrestrialMuch that defies the logic of our everyday lives seems to get attributed to extra-terrestrial beings. A ship disappears, so it must be our friends from Andromeda who have traveled across space and time to steal our secrets of flotation or in- atmosphere flight. Yep, that’s what they need in Andromeda: a Cessna and a sailboat. Flight 19, in which 5 Navy bombers seemingly disappeared mid-flight on December 5, 1945, has been attributed to UFOs.
The Presence of PiratesPiracy occurs in all seas, around the globe. The US Department of State cautions against the possibility of encountering, “vessels ... engaged in illicit activities … near the Bahamas.” But if you had aspirations to be a pirate wouldn’t you choose a place where people will cast the blame for normally suspicious acts on methane, UFOs and magnetic anomalies? Heck, yeah. The Bermuda Triangle is a rogue’s paradise.
Methane GasThe latest culprit in the Bermuda Triangle is methane, a natural gas that is less dense than water. So if you happen to be sailing through a patch of ocean when a massive methane effluvium bubbles up from the deep, then, yes, your boat could in fact sink. Gas hydrates exist in deep, high pressure environments found in all the world’s oceans, including parts of the Bermuda Triangle. But there are no recorded instances that such an incident has occurred.
Rogue WavesYou’re lolling along in a boat, rising and falling in the cradle of the deep ocean, enjoying the sun, sea and the wind when, wham! a giant wave pops up next to your boat and sinks it. In fact, this does happen without warning in the Bermuda Triangle, as it does in seas all over the globe. So this theory holds water… so to speak. And is, after human error, the most credible explanation for the mysterious disappearances that occur in the Triangle.
Magnetic AnomaliesIf you’ve ever watched a TV show on the Bermuda Triangle, then you’ve heard the recordings of pilots noting their instrumentation has gone haywire. So let’s think about this reasonably. True north only exists within a small swath of the earth. Otherwise, magnetic variations are normal and most pilots, sailors and computers with GPS know this and compensate compass bearings to adjust to true north. But even if a compass goes haywire, does that mean it’s an unexplained mystery? Magnetic anomalies happen, even locally, all over the world. But thousands and thousands of planes, sailboats, motor yachts and other water-bound vessels ply these waters each year and seem to exit unscathed.
Dumb MistakesAll over the world, human blunders result in the loss of billions of dollars worth of stuff. Could this also be happening in the Bermuda Triangle? Of course. Consider the pirates. If you make a catastrophic mistake that results in the loss of your boat or plane or personal watercraft and you don’t want to accept blame, what better place to have a calamitous loss of property than the mysterious, ship-eating, UFO-ridden and methane-spewing Bermuda Triangle. Hello, insurance claim. Recreational boating accident reports do show high incidences in the region that encompasses the Bermuda Triangle.
The existence of Atlantis?This is my personal favorite theory. Many Atlanteans believe the Bimini Road leads to that perfectly mysterious and as of today, undiscovered utopia called Atlantis. Something like an Atlantis would be hard to remain hidden from our probing world, sequestered from detection at the bottom of the sea. So supplies and spare parts for infrastructure likely tend to run low in this mythical land and every now and then sinking a ship or 2 to restock, or a plane for parts, or a drug runners’ cigarette boat just for fun seems reasonable to me if you’re an Atlantean in need.
Extra TerrestrialMuch that defies the logic of our everyday lives seems to get attributed to extra-terrestrial beings. A ship disappears, so it must be our friends from Andromeda who have traveled across space and time to steal our secrets of flotation or in- atmosphere flight. Yep, that’s what they need in Andromeda: a Cessna and a sailboat. Flight 19, in which 5 Navy bombers seemingly disappeared mid-flight on December 5, 1945, has been attributed to UFOs.
The Presence of PiratesPiracy occurs in all seas, around the globe. The US Department of State cautions against the possibility of encountering, “vessels ... engaged in illicit activities … near the Bahamas.” But if you had aspirations to be a pirate wouldn’t you choose a place where people will cast the blame for normally suspicious acts on methane, UFOs and magnetic anomalies? Heck, yeah. The Bermuda Triangle is a rogue’s paradise.
Methane GasThe latest culprit in the Bermuda Triangle is methane, a natural gas that is less dense than water. So if you happen to be sailing through a patch of ocean when a massive methane effluvium bubbles up from the deep, then, yes, your boat could in fact sink. Gas hydrates exist in deep, high pressure environments found in all the world’s oceans, including parts of the Bermuda Triangle. But there are no recorded instances that such an incident has occurred.
Rogue WavesYou’re lolling along in a boat, rising and falling in the cradle of the deep ocean, enjoying the sun, sea and the wind when, wham! a giant wave pops up next to your boat and sinks it. In fact, this does happen without warning in the Bermuda Triangle, as it does in seas all over the globe. So this theory holds water… so to speak. And is, after human error, the most credible explanation for the mysterious disappearances that occur in the Triangle.
Magnetic AnomaliesIf you’ve ever watched a TV show on the Bermuda Triangle, then you’ve heard the recordings of pilots noting their instrumentation has gone haywire. So let’s think about this reasonably. True north only exists within a small swath of the earth. Otherwise, magnetic variations are normal and most pilots, sailors and computers with GPS know this and compensate compass bearings to adjust to true north. But even if a compass goes haywire, does that mean it’s an unexplained mystery? Magnetic anomalies happen, even locally, all over the world. But thousands and thousands of planes, sailboats, motor yachts and other water-bound vessels ply these waters each year and seem to exit unscathed.
Dumb MistakesAll over the world, human blunders result in the loss of billions of dollars worth of stuff. Could this also be happening in the Bermuda Triangle? Of course. Consider the pirates. If you make a catastrophic mistake that results in the loss of your boat or plane or personal watercraft and you don’t want to accept blame, what better place to have a calamitous loss of property than the mysterious, ship-eating, UFO-ridden and methane-spewing Bermuda Triangle. Hello, insurance claim. Recreational boating accident reports do show high incidences in the region that encompasses the Bermuda Triangle.
The existence of Atlantis?This is my personal favorite theory. Many Atlanteans believe the Bimini Road leads to that perfectly mysterious and as of today, undiscovered utopia called Atlantis. Something like an Atlantis would be hard to remain hidden from our probing world, sequestered from detection at the bottom of the sea. So supplies and spare parts for infrastructure likely tend to run low in this mythical land and every now and then sinking a ship or 2 to restock, or a plane for parts, or a drug runners’ cigarette boat just for fun seems reasonable to me if you’re an Atlantean in need.
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