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Geography & History

The Bermuda Triangle became known as the area where an unusually large number of ships and airplanes disappeared, under mysterious circumstances and, usually, without any traces. Geographically it is a triangle defined by Miami Florida, San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Bermuda islands. The area started to gain its fame right after the end of World War II and reached its peak during the 60’s and 70’s.

However, long before the Triangle gained its fame and its name, the high seas of the area were full of mystery and danger for the sailors. To the south, the numerous Caribbean islands were the base of operations for ruthless pirates. To the west, and partially inside the Triangle’s area, the well-known Gulf Stream runs as a “river in the sea”, with a temperature and other physicochemical characteristics slightly different from those of the rest of the ocean. The weather conditions in the entire region are extremely variable and short-living and violent phenomena are common enough. Finally, at the northeast and also partially inside the Triangle, lies the Sargasso Sea, perhaps the most strange piece of ocean in the world.

Sargasso

When Christopher Columbus made his journey to the New World, he encountered waters full of seaweed that made him believe he was approaching land. When he tried to measure depth, he couldn’t, since at some places the ocean is as much as 5.000m deep. In the following years, the Sargasso Sea became a nightmare for sailors.

In the area defined by the 20^th and 35^th north parallel and the 30^th and 75^th west meridian, a thick layer of seaweed covers the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean is 1.500-7.000m deep. The seaweed named Sargassum is reproducing on the ocean surface and remains gathered in the Sargasso Sea because of the weak sea currents.

The main characteristics of the Sargasso Sea, besides the floating seaweed, are the weak currents, the higher than normal salinity and the long periods of total lack of wind. When ships were depending on the wind for their motion, a ship in the Sargasso could be trapped for weeks or even months due to weak or no winds at all. For many centuries it was known as the “Graveyard of ships” since there were many vessels trapped, often with their crews on board, dead from thirst and hunger.

Another common name for the Sargasso Sea is the “Horse Lattitudes” since many of the Spanish ships heading for the New World were carrying horses for the soldiers. When a ship was trapped in the Sargasso and the sailors were starting to experience thirst, they used to throw horses in the sea to save water. Many ships used to encounter floating dead horses, or horses skeletons mingled in the seaweed.

For centuries, the sailors, always-superstitious beings, believed that the spirits of the horses that had died there haunted the area. The legends were fed by the frequent discoveries of abandoned ships. Many times, when a ship was trapped in the Sargasso Sea, the crew would try to escape rowing the lifeboats.

The 17^th and 18^th century legends told stories about tenths of ships still floating entangled in the seaweed, abandoned, or with their crews long dead. Ships from all eras, Spanish galleons loaded with gold, even Roman galleys with skeletons still holding the oars. The Sargasso Sea was the sea of lost ships, a piece of ocean that every sailor tried to avoid.

Even today, many small ships are in danger of being immobilized if their screws get tangled in the seaweed.

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream enters the Atlantic Ocean coming from the Gulf of Mexico, in the area between Florida and the Bahamas. It is actually a river in the sea, with a temperature almost 10^οC higher than that of the ocean water and an increased salinity. It runs with a speed of 5 knots on a north-northeast heading.

The Gulf Stream is responsible for many intense and sudden weather phenomena. When the wind is blowing strong from the northeast, the sea can get suddenly very rough with 10-15m waves, capable to sink or capsize small vessels.

The temperature difference between the ocean and the Stream water often creates a thick fog curtain that appears and disappears unexpectedly, approximately defining the Stream’s route in the ocean.

Area morphology and characteristics

On the north and east of the Triangle there is only the Atlantic Ocean and the Sargasso Sea which is partially located inside it. The Gulf Stream flows on the west end of the Triangle, before the continental U.S. Cuba and the Bahamas are located southwest and the Antilles on the south.

Extremely deep water and unique meteorological phenomena are some of the area characteristics. The ocean depth is usually more than 5.000m, while near the Puerto Rico coast the depth drops at 8.300m, the deepest point in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

The weather is extremely variable and unpredictable. Even when the regional forecasts predict good weather, the rapid development of violent storms, with wind speed up to 75 knots, restricted to small areas, is quite possible.

Another interesting phenomenon is the appearance of small cyclones that move masses of water and sometimes raise water to tenths of meters, threatening low flying aircraft.

Thunderstorms in the area ionize atmosphere particles and cause another phenomenon known as the “St. Elmo’s fire”, or, in a more scientific term, electroluminescent coronal discharge. Physically, St. Elmo's fire is a bright blue-white glow, resembling fire, formed around tall, sharply pointed structures such as masts, spires and chimneys, and aircraft wings.

During the 60’s and the early 70’s the zero magnetic variation line was crossing the Triangle area. As a rule, the true north and the magnetic north bearings have a difference up to 20^o. This difference is marked on maps so that navigators can compensate accordingly. On the meridian of the zero magnetic variation (also known as “Agonic Line”) there is no difference between true and magnetic north. The Agonic Line is moving as the years go by and today it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida.

In addition to all these characteristics, the area can be described as a seafaring crossroads. Ships moving to and from North, Central and South America have to transit through the Bermuda Triangle. The same applies to air traffic, as numerous airstrips cross the Triangle.

Florida and the numerous small islands in the area, being attractive tourist destinations, attract lots of private or chartered airplanes and small boats.

A legend is born

The Bermuda Triangle stories did not surface suddenly. There was an initial stage, the 50’s, during which the legend was being born. Then, during the 60’s, a period of gradual promulgation and, during the 70’s, an explosive propagation. The Bermuda Triangle myth was here to stay.

In 1950, E. Jones, an Associated Press journalist, wrote an article implying that there was a mystery concerning the disappearance of 5 U.S. Navy torpedo planes, right after the end of World War II, in the Atlantic Ocean, near Florida. Two years later a Fate magazine article covered the same incident, also adding the disappearance of other ships and airplanes in the area. The 5 U.S. Navy airplanes story started appearing in books, Flying Saucers by H.T. Wilkins (1954), The Flying Saucer by D. Kehoe (1955) and The Case for the UFO by Μ.Κ.Jessup (1955).

The title “The Triangle” was frequently used during the 50’s when referring to incidents in the area. D. Titler, in his book Wings of Mystery (1962), had a chapter under the title The Mystery of Flight 19, dealing with the 5 airplanes, in which he used the name “Death’s Triangle”. A. Eckert in his 1962 article titled Lost Patrol, presented a series of dialogues between the control tower and the airplanes. In those dialogues there were phrases like: “…everything is wrong...strange ...the ocean doesn't look as it should…” and “…They look like they're from outer space - don't come after me…”. The name “Bermuda Triangle” appeared for the first time in a 1964 article by V. Gaddis in Argosy magazine.

The first book completely devoted to the Triangle was published in 1964, written by J. Spencer and titled Limbo of the Lost. In the early 70’s hundreds of article were published in magazines and newspapers, but no book or article has been read by more people than the The Bermuda Triangle by C. Berlitz that was published in 1974. Berlitz, starting with the already famous Flight 19, presented a long series of incidents and various theories. The book sold more than 10.000.000 copies, worldwide, and contributed more than anything else in establishing the Bermuda Triangle as one of 20^th century’s greatest mysteries.