The Bermuda Triangle: Location, Map, Mystery and Recent Disappearances

Some claimed it was the result of the extraterrestrial beings where as few claimed the area is definitely haunted. The mysterious disappearances had caused quite a flutter all over. Well, this isn’t a plot of any film that will set your pulse racing. I am talking about the Bermuda Triangle that has caused so many mysterious disappearances and still remains to be an obscure region for people all over the world.

The Location of the Bermuda Triangle:
Also known as the Devil’s Triangle, it is located near the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean. It roughly covers around 500, 0000 square miles in the Atlantic Ocean. The apexes of the triangle are in the surrounding areas of Florida, San Juan, Miami and Puerto Rico. It is rumored that this is also one of the areas where a compass will point at the true North. (Instead of the magnetic North). Hundreds of shipwrecks have occurred in this area. There may be no actual map of the Bermuda triangle, and the mysterious that have shrouded this place are a result of scientific occurrences, some of which are yet to be explained. In 1964, a magazine first named this area as the Bermuda Triangle (Writer-Vincent H. Gaddis) and today, this area still continues to be the center of attraction for scientists around the globe.

The Bermuda Triangle Mystery and Disappearances:
The last few years have seen many unfortunate incidents in this area. This has resulted in fabricated stories by people that offer no scientific explanation. The first disappearance that occurred was in the year 1945. This was a tragic time with the mysterious disappearance of 5 Navy Avengers over the Atlantic. The cause at that time was declared to be a ‘mistake’ of the pilot. But the flight had taken place on a calm day with the most experienced pilot-Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor in charge. It is rumored that the family members of the pilot protested against the reasons and eventually persuaded the Navy to change the cause to ‘reasons unknown’.

The year 1872, witnessed an unfortunate incident with the appearance of Mary Celeste sans all the crew on board. The ship was found abandoned and the incident was invariably linked to the Bermuda Triangle although the ship was found off the coast of Portugal.

This was later followed by the certain reports of the people probably sighting strange, swirling lights. This was also sometimes accompanied by sounds. At times, it is rumored that there was also a thick fog in this area. In fact, The Sargasso Sea, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean has found a mention in the diary of Christopher Columbus. Here, it seemed that his crew had their first brush with this area. They experienced strange sightings (dancing lights in the horizon) and it was Columbus himself who noticed that his compass was not performing the usual way, as it actually should.

In 1918, during World War I, the U.S.S. Cyclops was assigned to sail to Brazil. But after a stop at Barbados, the ship was never heard of again. The entire crew and passengers were reported to have mysteriously disappeared.

The year 1948 also saw a vanishing act in the month of December. It had been reported that the pilot of the DC-3, Captain Robert Lindquist, had radioed Miami for landing instructions when he had reached close to Miami. Although he received the instructions, the plane never did turned up. The reason was also not due to bad weather as the report for that day, showed clear skies.

2 passenger aircrafts did another vanishing act in 1948. The Star Tiger disappeared on January 30th and the Star Ariel vanished on January 17, 1949. Neither of the crafts had sent out any distress signals.

The S.S. Marine Sulphur Queen, was a tanker scheduled to reach Virginia. But with her last communication on February 3, 1963 she never ever reached her destination. After 3 days of continual search for the S.S. Marine Sulphur Queen, the search team recovered only one life jacket close to 40 miles southwest from the tanker’s estimated position. Eventually the coast guards also recovered 5 life rings, 8 life jackets, 1 shirt, 1 piece of oar, 1 oil and gasoline can, 1 fog horn and 1 cone buoy. It has been said that the leakage of the sulphur gas could have killed the entire crew. The sea being infested with sharks, it was little hoped that the bodies would ever be found.

The strange incident of the appearance of the yacht-Connemara IV sans its crew and passengers adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Bermuda caused many a rumors to float. The year 1955 saw 3 hurricanes during this time, but only one of the 3 were actually close to the yacht. So the reasons were never clear, why the ship did not have a single person aboard.

Rumors associated with the Bermuda Triangle:
The mid 1960’s saw rumors that claimed the interference of extraterrestrials behind the disappearance of the aircrafts and ships. People even spoke about UFO sightings close to that area. Some people even go to the extent of claiming it to be haunted. Imaginations of the people soared to new heights with the emergence of the theory of the time warp. This suggests that the ships and the planes have entered a different time zone once they reached the Bermuda triangle. As per the theory, it would probably mean the crew and people are still alive somewhere. Another possibility claimed by people spoke about the aliens abducting those who entered the Bermuda Triangle. Some believe this region, is also the home to the lost city of Atlantis.

Possible theories of the Bermuda Triangle Mystery:
Scientists have claimed the environment has had a part to play in the disappearances at the Bermuda Triangle. It is cited the reasons are either man made or due to natural causes. It has been discovered by the scientists at the Cardiff University that there is a large presence of methane gas in the ocean floor of this area. There are various reasons for this occurrence. The methane gas is formed due to the decayed bodies of the sea creatures. If there were periodic eruptions of methane, it would not be able to provide the required flexibility for the ships to sail in the waters. These eruptions can cause the ships to sink without a hint of warning. During the times of such eruptions, even an aircraft faces danger, as it can catch fire immediately. Methane also constitutes the power to stall engines once it is released into the air.

Another plausible theory of the Bermuda triangle cites a waterspout, caused by storms or disturbance in the weather. Underwater earthquakes can also cause severe damage and destruction without any prior warning. The region of the Bermuda triangle has shown to have intense seismic activity. This area also houses some of the deepest trenches in the world. The underwater area of the Bermuda triangle has an extremely steep drop in the ground. This could also mean that the tragic disappearance of the ships or planes could be a result of being trapped in hurricanes or storms and sinking into the depths of the oceans without ever leaving a trace, owing to the depth of the trenches. The underwater earthquakes in this region can also cause extremely large waves. For a moment, a sea that looks calm and picture perfect can be transformed into a treacherous one and these large waves are also estimated to be the reason behind all the disappearances at the Bermuda Triangle.

It is also known that the people, who have entered this area, have faced problems when they have tried to use their compass. This is because, as mentioned earlier, there have been theories to cause the compass to point to the true North Pole instead of the magnetic North Pole due to the presence of certain unusual and abnormal magnetic differences in the area.

Wars or such deliberate acts carried out by humans are also sometimes considered the cause for the losses. It has been rumored that pirates have caused some amount of destruction in the olden days due to their smuggling operations and attacks on ships. During the prolonged periods of war, enemies may have destroyed the ships or the planes and not left a trace.

Despite the numerous theories and assumptions, there is widespread belief in supernatural theories as well. The Bermuda Triangle thus still remains to be an enigma to many.