The Bermuda Triangle - Mysteries & Theories

   Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the Atlantic known for its disasters and disappearances. If you are a traveler who likes to explore the world, I would suggest you guys to leave this place out of your plans. There have been more than 30 known incidents accounted for in this region.

   First report of mysterious activity came up way back in September 1950. This article led to many reports of disappearances and accidents within the vicinity of the region. Vincent Gaddis coined the term “Bermuda Triangle” in his article “The Deadly Bermuda Triangle” in Argosy magazine in February 1964. He explained the disappearance of Flight 19 squadron in the region.

Vertices of the Bermuda Triangle
Source: Wikipedia Commons

   Gaddis along with his article gave vertices of the Bermuda Triangle. According to him, the area lied between Bermuda, Miami and Puerto Rico. But different writers came up with different boundaries. The area of the region varied from 1,300,000 km² to 3,900,000 km².

   As the story of the Bermuda Triangle surfaced, various questions arose as well. What is Bermuda Triangle? Is it real? If so, what is the reason behind it? Many researchers from all over the world tried to answer these questions. As time went by, many theories about the mysterious activities were put forward.

Bimini Road Structures

   One such theory deals with Atlantis. Yes, the fictional island of Plato. Many believed this plot as real. Edward Cayce, a clairvoyant, said that the evidence of the lost island would arise in 1968. This actually matched with the discovery of Bimini Road within the Bermuda Triangle in 1968.

   Cayce also believed that the natural formation as the mountains of the Atlantis and that it had some crystals which radiated energy that led to the malfunctioning of equipment on the ships and planes. Some unconvincing theories like UFOs, alien abductions and time warps and some kind of weird hole in the sky were also put forward.

   A large number of incidents reported the phrase compass abnormality. Many theorized the presence of unusual magnetic anomaly in the Bermuda Triangle. But no evidences of such anomalies were found. The changes in agonic lines might have caused the wrong interpretations by the captains and pilots.

Map showing both Geographic and Magnetic North Poles

   Agonic line is an imaginary line that connects the north and south poles with every place on Earth, where there is no magnetic declination. Simply, they pass through the places where the compass points towards true north. The magnetic north and true north are always not same. The compass not always points true north. This can lead to miscalculations in interpretations from the compass.

   The Bermuda Triangle also contains large number of islands and coral growths. There are both shallow waters and deep trenches. The Puerto Rico Trench, for example, is located within the Bermuda Triangle and is 8829 meters. The region is also found to have seismic activities as well. There is evidence of an earthquake which occurred in 1817 with 7.4 magnitudes.

Gulf Stream photo by Library of Congress
Source; Wikipedia Commons

   None of the above mentioned theories actually explained the mystery. But there is key factor to consider, the Gulf Stream. Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Strait of Florida along the eastern coast of USA. It is kind of an under ocean river. It is extremely swift with a speed of 4-5 knots, fierce and turbulent. It is perfectly capable of clearing any evidences of incidents and even moves the wrecks and ships.

   In 2016, scientists from Norway have reported that they have discovered huge craters created possibly due to methane release. As the event has been reported, many started to connect the methane release as the mystery behind the Triangle. But there is no such methane existence beneath the region.

   Though some of the theories looks promising, there is no definitive proof that explains the weird region. Every few years, many come forward that they have proved the mystery. First, is there a mystery at all? Or is there too much factors in the region that can maximize the probability of incidents?

   Mysterious or not, the Bermuda Triangle has left an impression in our hearts.