The Bermuda Triangle (sometimes known as Devil's Triangle) is a 1.5-million-square-mile (4,000,000 km²) area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the southern tip of Florida. Some believe it is a paranormal site in which the laws of physics are violated or altered.

It is said that within this area a number of ships and planes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. The United States Coast Guard and others disagree with the assessment of paranormal activity, arguing that the number of incidents involving lost ships and planes is no larger than that of any other heavily traveled region of the world.

Another area that is classified by many as having the same paranormal effects is the Devil's Sea, located near Japan

History of the Bermuda Triangle
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First citations
The first mention of any disappearances in the area was made in 1950 by E.V.W. Jones as a sidebar on the Associated Press wire service regarding recent ship losses in the area. Jones' article notes the "mysterious disappearances" of ships, planes and small boats in the region, and ascribes it the name "The Devil's Sea." It was mentioned again in 1952 in a Fate magazine article by George X. Sand, who outlined several "strange marine disappearances". The term "Bermuda Triangle" was popularized by Vincent Gaddis in a 1964 Argosy feature.

Popularized by Berlitz
The area achieved its fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book The Bermuda Triangle. The book consists of a series of recountings of mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, in particular, the loss of a squadron of five U.S. Navy aircraft .

The book was a best seller, and many interested readers offered theories to explain the nature of the disappearances. The list includes natural storms, transportation by extraterrestrial technology, high-traffic volumes (and correspondingly high accident rates), a "temporal hole," the lost Atlantis empire from the bottom of the ocean, and other natural and supernatural causes.

Scientific explanations

Skeptical responses
Critics have charged that Berlitz, and others have exaggerated the "mysterious" aspects of some cases (Berlitz himself did not advocate any supernatural explanation), and argue that the Bermuda Triangle sees no more "disappearances" than any comparable area of the oceans. Of note, Lloyd's of London has determined the "triangle" to be no more dangerous than any other piece of the ocean, and does not charge unusual rates of insurance for passage through the area. Coast Guard records confirm this.

Skeptics comment that the disappearance of a train between two stops would be more convincing evidence of paranormal activity, and the fact that such things do not occur suggests that paranormal explanations are not needed for the disappearance of ships and airplanes in the far less predictable open ocean.

Kusche's research
Intrigued by the number of students coming to him looking for information about the Bermuda Triangle, Lawrence Kusche, a reference librarian with Arizona State University at the time of the "Flight 19" incident, began an exhaustive follow-up investigation of the original reports. His findings were eventually published in 1975 as The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved.

Kusche's research revealed a number of inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. He noted cases where pertinent but late-arriving information went unreported. The Berlitz book included the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst as a mystery, despite clear evidence that Crowhurst had fabricated the accounts of his voyage, and that his diary strongly suggested he had committed suicide. An ore carrier Berlitz recounts as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port was actually lost three days out of a port of the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche argues that a large percentage of the incidents attributed to the Bermuda triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it.

Kusche came to several conclusions:

With this area being one of the busiest shipping areas in the world, the proportion of losses was no greater than anywhere else.
In an area with frequent tropical storms, the total disappearance of some ships was not unlikely or mysterious, and the number of such disappearances was exaggerated by sloppy research, when a missing boat would be reported in the press, but not its eventual return to port.
In actual disappearances, the circumstances were frequently misreported in the Bermuda Triangle books: the number of ships disappearing in supposedly still, calm weather did not jibe with press weather reports published at the time.
While Kusche's analysis provides a skeptical counterbalance to Berlitz's book, we can still expect to see books and websites devoted to uncovering the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangles.


Methane hydrates
Main Article: Methane hydrate

An explanation for some of the disappearances focuses on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves. A paper was published by the United States Geological Survey about the appearance of hydrates in the Blake Ridge area, offshore southeastern United States, in 1981 [1]. Periodic methane eruptions are capable of producing ship-sized bubbles, or regions of water with so much dissolved gas, that the water density is no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships to float. [2]. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink almost directly and without warning. Experiments have proven that a methane bubble can indeed sink a ship by decreasing the density of the water.

Methane gas can also crash planes. The less dense air causes planes to lose lift. Also, the altimeter of planes (the instrument that measures the altitude) functions on the density of air. Because methane is less dense, the altimeter assumes the plane is climbing. Planes at night or in the clouds, where they can't see the ground, assume that they are climbing and dive, causing them to crash. Also, methane in the engine throws off the mix of fuel and air. Since combustion engines use controlled explosions, when the oxygen is displaced with even a very small amount of methane, there's no explosion, and the engine quits. All of these effects of methane gas have been experimentally proven.


Freak Waves
Main article: Freak waves

Research has shown that freak waves up to 30 m (100 feet) tall, capable of sinking the largest ships within moments, can and do happen. Although these are very rare, in some areas ocean currents mean they happen more often than the norm. Such waves have now been hypothesized as a cause for many unexplained shipping losses over the boats.


South Atlantic Anomaly
Main Article: South Atlantic Anomaly

The South Atlantic Anomaly is a region of high electromagnetic activity, on the order of 50 MeV, extending "downward" toward the surface of the earth from the Van Allen belt. It is a known hazard to the electronic systems of artificial satellites orbiting in a certain range of inclinations. Some have suggested that the anomalous radiation may be responsible for stories of spinning compasses and malfunctioning electronic equipment.


Famous incidents

Flight 19
For the main article, see Flight 19

One of the best known Bermuda Triangle incidents concerns the loss of Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. Navy Avenger TBM torpedo bombers on a training flight out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 5, 1945. According to Berlitz, the flight consisted of expert Marine Corps aviators who, after reporting a number of odd visual effects, simply disappeared. Furthermore, Berlitz claims that because the TBM Avenger bombers were built to float for long periods, they should have been found the next day considering what were reported as calm seas and a clear sky. However, not only were they never found, a Navy search and rescue plane that went after them was also lost. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."


Cultural references
Barry Manilow sung a UK no. 15 hit in 1981 entitled Bermuda Triangle. It tells the story of a fictional holiday to the area where the singer's girlfriend elopes with a local, but he finds a more than adequate replacement, leading to the uplifting final refrain:

Bermuda Triangle, it makes people disappear

Bermuda Triangle, don't go too near

But look at it from my angle

And you'll see why I'm so glad

Now Bermuda Triangle not so bad!

Very nice article KHOBI ji. May I know the source of this article?

Yasir ji, i got this from encyclopedia. I knew about this problem long ago, but i didn't know that Methane hydrates. so i thought to share u guys as well, and thanks for liking it

u know zairrrr...........i didn't know about methane na..........so i was talkin to one of my previous scinece teacher about global warming,....................... then i got remembered this and asked if she knows what's the final idea about this devil triangle.........she said it's all methane , nothing else.........and that was a new news for me , thought to share u as well. by the way, ur most welcome hun

Devil's Triangle

yes

Here is a Short Note:

A Brief History of the Devil's Triangle:
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Limbo of the Lost. The Twilight Zone. Hoodoo Sea. The Devil's Triangle. The vast three-sided segment of the
Atlantic Ocean bordered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, did not receive its most
Famous nickname until 1964, but reports of bizarre happenings there, or nearby, have been recorded for
Centuries. In fact, many claim that Christopher Columbus bore witness to the Bermuda Triangle's weirdness.

The Bermuda Triangle legend really began in earnest on December 5, 1945, with the famed disappearance of
Flight 19. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished while on a routine training mission, as did a
Rescue plane sent to search for them -- six aircraft and 27 men, gone without a trace. Or so the story goes.
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COURTESY: PARASCOPE
****************************************
Welcome to Bermuda-Triangle.Org !
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No doubt you have wondered about the Bermuda Triangle. It is the greatest modern mystery of our
Supposedly well understood world: a region of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and
San Juan, Puerto Rico, where disappearances of ships and planes not only continue but continue to defy
Explanation. .........

The date was January 8, 1962. A huge 4 engine KB-50 aerial tanker was en route from the east coast to
Lajes in the Azores. The captain, Major Bob Tawney, reported in at the expected time. All was normal,
routine. But he, his 8 crew and big tanker, never made the Azores. Apparently, the last word from the flight
had been that routine report, a report which had placed them a few hundred miles off the east coast.
FLASH! the media broadcasted, fed by a sincere Coast Guard issued press statement, that a large oil
Slick was sighted 300 miles off Norfolk, Virginia, in the plane’s proposed route. The mystery could be
Breaking . . . .
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COURTESY: BERMUDA - TRIANGLE

Read this Link , there may be something informative ... ENCYCLOPEDIA

Khobi, nice info - I've avidly followed this topic for manyyears. But yes, this methane thing is new to me too. And makes a lot of sense too.

I sometimes wonder -why are paranormal activities, UFOs, and all strange things located in and around the US - with the US govt ALWAYS denying everything?

Mandrake.. use kehte hain chor ki dhaaDhi mein tinka aur Uncle Sam ki to 230 saal puraani dhaaDhi hai !! Na jaane kitne tinke honge !!

er.. and what were those puraane hisaab ? hum zara bhool-sa gaye hain.... jaldi bata dijiye abhi fauran baraabar kar dete hain

Vivek puttar, hisaab chukaane ki jaldi kar rahe ho? Aur woh bhi mujhse?

SIngapore se lautna hai na? Ya seedhe Timbaktoo jaana hai?

yes mandrake ji.................it's mine too...........but sure methane hyderates is a new news.

Nature jee yeh third pic mein kia dikhaya hai aap kuch bataiye plz

Yes , i am also wondering about that ship if it is about to cross near by " Devil Triangle"? ...........nature ji.............can u plz explain this