The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is a legendary area of the Atlantic Ocean. The tips of the triangle are Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. A number of ships, small boats, and even large military aircraft have disappeared there.

The area was made famous by several magazine articles, books, and a documentary film that were produced from 1950 to 1974. Some authors believed that attacks by giant squid or abductions by space aliens caused these vessels and aircraft to disappear. But, in 1975, American Larry Kusche investigated the incidents and found that most of them were not mysterious. Insurance records also noted that this area was no more dangerous than any other part of the ocean. 

Since then, the U.S. Navy and many scientists have offered several reasons for the disappearances. The area is one of only two in the world where a magnetic compass points to true north rather than magnetic north. (The other is off the coast of Japan and is known as the Devil’s Sea.) This likely caused some navigators to go off course, which is very dangerous because many of the islands in the Triangle have large areas of shallow water where vessels can run aground. As well, violent storms, including hurricanes and water spouts (large spinning columns of water), often occur in the area.

Another reason involves the Gulf Stream, a current of warm water that circulates through the area. Weather can be more violent over it and the current is so powerful that a sinking vessel or crashed aircraft quickly disappears below its surface. They can also sink a long way down as some of the ocean’s deepest trenches, from 19,000 to over 27,000 feet below sea level, are found here.

Finally, human error due to inexperience or poor equipment is likely a major reason why many pleasure boats have disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle.