The Bermuda Triangle lies in the Atlantic Ocean between the southeastern coasts of Florida, Islands of Puerto Rico and Bermuda. The line which connects these three places forms an imaginary triangle. The area which the triangle covers is nearly 500,000 square miles. It is nearly two times the size of Texas. No doubt, Bermuda Triangle is the one of the most mysterious places in the world. Several hundreds of ships, boats and planes have disappeared in the area without a trace. What’s more bizarre is the fact that no one has been reported to survive in it. In the past few decades, there are a number of people who made false claims of being in the triangle and survived, but in reality they have no proof that they have been there. One of the first reports about the very strange and odd happenings in the Bermuda Triangle took place in the year 1492 in which Christopher Columbus and his crew were involved. Columbus had reported that he had seen some unusual and random readings on his compass in the Sargasso Sea. Long after the Columbus incident, the disappearances of large ships along with their crew had become quite common in the 1900’s, but now the area is entirely sealed. Before, I take you to the top 10 explanations let me share with you a strange incident that took place in the year 1880. The British ship Atlanta had started its journey from Bermuda to England, but had vanished on its way towards the destination. No trace of the ship along with the crew was ever found. Let us now take a look at the top 10 explanations about the Bermuda Triangle.
10. Lost City of Atlantis
One of the various claims that have been made about the triangle is that inside the triangle lies the “Lost City of Atlantis”. It is one of the most used explanations these days due to which it had made it to our number 10th spot. It was also hypothesized that in the year 1968 the archaeologists would find the entrance to the city of Atlantis near the Bermuda Triangle. A rock wall formation was also seen a nearby area of Bahamas which was then believed to be the sign of the lost city. Then what makes the disappearances? Some legends claim that the lost city had numerous crystals and rocks which sent out waves of energy. Same is the case now, as the city still generates waves of energy which disrupts the path of the ships, boats and planes. Some of the conspiracy theorists also claim that there is a secret underwater base located in the area which can be the presumed cause of the disappearances.
9. Alien Abductions
These days the concept of alien abductions has also been around for quite some time now. All the hype was first created in the year 1967, when many people started claiming that they had been captured and abducted by aliens for many days. Also in the same year, a press release was issued by the National Geographic Society in which several mysterious events and phenomena were reported. Although this explanation is quite illogical, but still in order to fill out the gaps about the mysterious triangle, people started accepting whatever explanations that got their hands on. Steven Spielberg had also made a film based on the same topic which was known as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. The plot of the movie had revolved around the Flight 19 aircrew that was one of the first disappearances reported in the area. Some heavily equipped planes and ships were prepared for the rescue mission but they also vanished. Neither bodies nor any wreckage was reported to be found.
8. Time Travel
At number 8 we have the idea of Time Travel which has been forcibly linked with the disappearances in the area. In simple words, the time travel concept states that who so ever enters the area of Bermuda Triangle, is teleported in time to some other place. Till now it is said that nearly 1000 lives have been lost and more than 50 ships and planes have vanished in the area. The United States Navy accepts no such claims, but still the stories continue to emerge. Some of the people also say that there are numerous blue holes in inside the triangle which the aliens use as portals into our world. One of the current theories has been given by Rob Macgregor and Bruce Gernon which states that there is an electronic fog inside the area which possesses time travel qualities.
7. Deliberate Attacks
At number 7 we have one of the most probable yet tragic explanations is the one about the piracy attacks in the area. Although no such evidence about such deliberate attacks on the Flight 19 were found, but still it is believed that the crew along with the planes and ships are either killed or kept hostage at some place within the triangle. Not to forget that presently, hundreds of cases have been reported in which the ship and the crew were captured by pirates and kept hostage for a long period of time. Similar cases were also reported in times of the World War II in which the enemies used to capture the opponent ships at sea. It is somehow hard to believe that this explanation can be the right one, as the ships and the planes that had vanished were somewhat heavily armed even in those times so how can they possibly be captured by pirates or any other enemy.
6. Geomagnetic Fields
In almost all of the reported incidents, a disruption in the navigational equipment has been reported. These disruptions give rise to yet another explanation that there are some form of geomagnetic fields that the interior and exterior of the triangle. As it has been already proved that the geomagnetic fields do cause a disruption in the functioning of the equipment, therefore it can be said that this explanation is one of the most plausible of them all. Many of the theorists and scientists also assert that there are certain magnetic anomalies in the area which are the possible causes of the disappearances.
5. Methane Gas
At number 5 we have the explanation that makes use of the Methane gas. It states that there are vast and concentrated fields of the natural gas methane inside the triangle and that these natural gas regions are the possible causes of the mysterious disappearances. Various experiments that have been performed in the laboratories have confirmed that methane gas possesses the innate tendency to sink a ship after which it pushed the wreckage to the surface. The wreckage is then taken away by the gulf streams to different areas. Another relevant concept is the one of “Mud Volcanoes” according to which the frothy water generated from these volcanoes has reduced the buoyancy of the water in the area which causes the ships to sink in the area at a rapid pace. At the same time, the wreckage remains hidden in the area, as it is not sent to the surface due to the reduced buoyancy.
4. Variations of the Gulf Streams
Like a river, the Gulf Stream originates from the Gulf of Mexico and then goes all the way to the North Atlantic. The area which the stream covers is nearly 50 miles or more wide. It possesses the ability to move any plane or ship off course. Furthermore, some of the deepest trenches in the world are also reported to be found in the Bermuda Triangle. Another problem which the rescuers face near the stream is that of the unusually high waves which are formed in the surrounding areas due to which it becomes virtually impossible to trace the lost crew and wreckage.
3. Unpredictable Weather and Rouge Waves
Many of the scientists and researchers claim the extreme variations in the weather of the Bermuda Triangle results in the formation of very high waves and even hurricanes which can be one of the most probable causes of the disappearances. Some people even claim that there is no such thing as Bermuda Triangle as all the disappearances are only related to the extreme weather, nothing else. In addition to the hurricanes, rouge waves have also been increasingly reported in the area. The latest images and photographs taken from the satellite have proved that one of the waves had reached to more than 80 feet high.
2. Chances of Human Error
At number 2 we have the explanation that makes the use of human error as the possible cause of the disappearances. It states that most of the pilots and crew members experience sensory disorientation or any other form of sensory confusion results in all the accidents which prove to be quite fatal. As the surrounding areas have been reported to be under heavy traffic flows, so the chances of likely accidents are there. But this explanation also lacks empirical and logical evidence, as the flight 19 had disappeared in times when there was no traffic in the area. And how can all of them come under the influence of sensory disorientation.
- 1. Sheer Myth
The most sound of all the explanations is to provide no explanation at all. In fact the Bermuda triangle is after all a mystery and a baseless story. All the strange dancing lights, irregular compass readings, electromagnetic waves, blue holes, flames in the sky and aliens are all part of the mystery which in fact does not exists at all. Some of the theorists even claim that the accidents which were reported in the area did not even happen in the triangle and took place somewhere else. At the same time, they also assert what Columbus reported was also due to human error or disruptions caused by the geomagnetic waves.
