About the Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is an enigma that continues to baffle and intrigue both the scientific community and laymen alike. The numerous ships and aircraft that have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle remain a mystery. Although many theories have been proposed to explain the unusual disappearances that have happened in the triangle none have provided a concrete explanation for the strange happenings in the unique area known as the Bermuda Triangle.

History

The mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle have often been attributed to paranormal phenomenon. Christopher Columbus supposedly was the first person to document the strange happenings in the triangle. He reported seeing odd lights and stated that his compass was behaving strangely. He also reported seeing a ball of light falling from the sky. Since the time of Columbus there have been numerous experiences and documented disappearances. The area known as the Bermuda Triangle has been home to such anomalies that have been described as the ocean having a strange appearance, an unusual looking mist or fog appearing suddenly as well as instrument failure.

Geography

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle is an area in the northwestern portion of the Atlantic Ocean. Its boundaries are considered to be Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. It is a heavily traveled route for both commercial and private aircraft and ships. Although freak storms and hurricanes do occur, no definitive conclusion has been reached regarding why there would be such an unusual loss of crafts in this particular region.

Features

There have been many disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle area, but certain ones that have caught the eye of the public and held its interest. Flight 19 is one such disappearance. Flight 19 disappeared on December 5, 1945. They were a training flight of avenger bombers led by an experienced pilot Lt. Charles Taylor. The flight simply went missing without a trace. Indications have been made that Taylor simply got lost, but no wreckage was found. Did Lt. Taylor lose his bearings and lead his squad to their deaths or did something more was the fate of Flight 19 attributed to something more anomalous? This is a question that still remains unanswered. The U.S.S. Cyclops was a Navy ship that went missing after it departed from Barbados in 1918. No trace of the Cyclops or her crew of over 300 men was ever found.

Significance

There have been many more craft to vanish in the Bermuda Triangle, some of them containing eerie elements that make them even more mysterious. An example of this is the disappearance of the Raifuku Maru, a Japanese vessel that went down with its crew after sending a distress call mentioning something like a dagger. Conflicting reports say that the vessel was no where near the Bermuda Triangle and the word mentioned may have been danger instead of dagger. Many other craft are listed as casualties of the Bermuda Triangle including the 23-foot cabin cruiser Witchcraft, which went missing in December of 1967 and the Vagabond found abandoned in July of 1969. Numerous aircrafts have joined the missing ships as well, such as a F-4 fighter plane that disappeared off radar on September 10, 1971 and a single-engine Cessna-210 which also disappeared from radar in 1991.

Considerations

There have been many theories proposed in regard to the Bermuda Triangle disappearances. They include everything from freak storms to alien abduction. In the Bermuda Triangle, a compass points to true north. It normally points to magnetic north. This is a compass variation. The variation can be as much as twenty degrees. If this variation is not compensated for a navigator may find himself lost. This is one possible explanation for missing craft in this area. Many of the missing craft are believed to have sunk or crashed due to hurricanes, waterspouts and even rogue waves. A waterspout is a vortex that appears over a body of water. Waterspouts, often referred to as tornadoes over water can be destructive and have sunk many ships. A rogue wave is a large wave that rises suddenly and may reach as high as 100 feet, although this is rare. A rogue wave can certainly topple any ships in its wake.

Theories/Speculation

Several paranormal theories have also been proposed to explain the unusual disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. These include technology left behind by the legendary civilization of Atlantis that sunk beneath the ocean, the possibility of alien abduction, a portal to alternative dimensions, a rip or tear in the fabric of space-time and more. Conspiracy theories are fueled by speculation about the workings of an underwater military base known as Underwater Area 51. In any case, the Bermuda Triangle remains a place of mystery and intrigue.

Resources

• Bernuda-Triangle.org