The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an area of the north Atlantic Ocean where it is popularly believed a significant number of ships and aircraft have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. It has become popular through its representation by mass media as an area of paranormal activity where the known laws of physics are violated. It has even been suggested that extraterrestrial beings are responsible for some of the disappearances.
Despite popular belief, the United States Coast Guard and other agencies cite statistics indicating that the number of incidents involving lost ships and aircraft is no larger than that of any other heavily-traveled region of the world. [1] Many of the alleged mysteries have proven not so mysterious or unusual upon closer examination, with inaccuracies and misinformation about the cases often circulating and recirculating over the decades.
As its name suggests, the Bermuda Triangle is approximately triangular in shape, with three corners roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Miami, Florida. Its size is nearly half a million square miles (1.2 million km²).
The Triangle marks a corridor of the north Atlantic stretching northward from the West Indies along the North American seaboard as far as the Carolinas. To take advantage of prevailing winds, ships returning to Europe during the Age of Sail would sail north to the Carolinas before turning east to cross the north Atlantic. This pattern continued after the development of steam and internal combustion engines, meaning that much of the north Atlantic shipping traffic crossed (and still crosses) through the Triangle's area.
The Gulf Stream, an area of volatile weather, also passes through the Triangle as it leaves the West Indies. The combination of heavy maritime traffic and tempestuous weather made it inevitable that vessels would flounder in storms and be lost without trace, especially before the telecommunications, radar and satellite technology of the late twentieth century.
Other areas often purported to possess unusual characteristics are the Devil's Sea, located near Japan, and the Marysburgh Vortex (or "Great Lakes Triangle"), located in eastern Lake Ontario.
2006-08-03 23:16:38
·
answer #1
·
answered by Miss LaStrange 5
·
0⤊
0⤋