Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle
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The Bermuda Triangle
Location	North Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates
Type	Region
Surface area	500,000 sq mi (1,300,000 km²)

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. The vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships frequently crossing through it for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships and pleasure craft regularly sail through the region, and commercial and private aircraft routinely fly over it.

Geography

The boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle are not universally agreed upon. However, the most common description defines the vertices of the triangle as Miami, Bermuda, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The area covers roughly 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km²) of ocean.

History

The earliest suggestion of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle area appeared in a September 17, 1950 article published in The Miami Herald by Edward Van Winkle Jones. Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery at Our Back Door," a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training mission.

Notable Incidents

Several notable incidents have been associated with the Bermuda Triangle:

• Flight 19: A training flight of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on December 5, 1945.
• USS Cyclops (AC-4): A Proteus-class collier of the United States Navy that disappeared in March 1918.
• Star Tiger and Star Ariel: Two Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft that disappeared in January 1948 and January 1949, respectively.

Explanations

Numerous explanations have been proposed to account for the purported disappearances, ranging from natural explanations to paranormal phenomena. Some of the natural explanations include:

• Methane hydrates: Large fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves could produce gas eruptions (or "mud volcanoes") that might cause ships to sink.
• Compass variations: The Bermuda Triangle is one of the places on Earth where true north and magnetic north align, which could cause navigational errors.
• Rogue waves: Extremely large waves that can appear without warning and are capable of sinking ships.

Skepticism

Many scientists and investigators have pointed out that the number of incidents in the Bermuda Triangle is not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean. The United States Coast Guard and the Lloyd's of London insurance company have both stated that the Bermuda Triangle does not have an unusually high number of shipwrecks or aircraft disappearances.

In Popular Culture

The Bermuda Triangle has been a popular subject in various forms of media, including books, films, and television shows. It has been featured in works such as The Bermuda Triangle by Charles Berlitz and the 1977 film The Bermuda Triangle.

See Also

• List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
• List of maritime disasters
• List of missing aircraft