Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle
a national history project taken beyond writing
Triangle Total Area (in mi.)
The Bermuda Triangle is not as big as you would normally think. It covers a total of 440,000 miles of sea. This is more land area than Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh, & Maharashtra combined. It's effect is not only experienced from within its' borders. People outside of the triangle may still experience effects of the area, although they have not entered its' boundaries.
Thesis
The Bermuda Triangle is a mysterious place where many encounters sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Research
The Bermuda Triangle, also called the Devil's Triangle, is an imaginary area that can be roughly outlined on a map by connecting Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Bahamas, an island chain off the coast of the United States. Over the years, many ships and airplanes traveling here have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Unexplained incidents and phenomenons have occurred here, including a squad of pilots of the U.S. Navy bombers, who were flying over the area became very disoriented and were never seen again. Many planes and boats have also disappeared from the area, even in good weather, without ever sending out a distress call for help. There has been many theories created about the Bermuda Triangle, and none of them have proven whether disappearances happen more frequently here than in any other part of the ocean. Boats, ships, and planes navigate through this area every day without any incidents. It is famous for the disappearance of over 66 airplanes and ships. The most famous disappearance was a bomber squad called Flight 19, which was mentioned earlier. Some ships disappeared over 30 years ago and still haven't been seen since. The Bermuda Triangle is a windy, yet sunny place. It's temperature is usually 60-100+ degrees. The Bermuda Triangle doesn't have distinct seasons. The Bermuda Triangle has winds that are normally 10 miles per hour.
History and Disappearances
Christopher Columbus (1492)
Christopher Columbus is famously known for finding America, but did you know that he also was the first to report about and sail through the Bermuda Triangle? There are some notes there found after his death:
Monday, September 17 ????
The sailors took north, marking it [North Star], and found that the compasses northwested a full point (11 and one quarter degrees); and the sailors were fearful and depressed and did not say why. The Admiral was aware of this and he ordered that the north again be marked when dawn came, and they found that the compasses were correct. The cause was that the North Star appears to move and not the compasses.
Bermuda Triangle (1940 - 1960)
Flight 19 had 5 torpedo navy bombers fly across the Atlantic. December 1945, the whole fleet vanished half way to the coast of Florida. A search rescue was sent out but they also vanished.
During that time period, many other planes have disappeared. One plane disappeared with 32 passengers aboard and was never found again.
Amelia Earhart (1937)
In 1937, Amelia Earhart went and set off on her flight across the Atlantic solo. While she was flying through the Pacific, she said through the radio that she couldn't see or find the landing strip. Her plane vanished, no one to this day really knows what had happened to Amelia.
Most Common Beliefs
The disappearances are claimed to be occurring because of UFO's and extraterrestrial activity, and even the lost city of Atlantis. There are many abnormal guesses to how the triangle works, such as even technical, natural, and geographic causes to how the triangle does what it does.
Disappearance Rate
A minimum of 1000 lives were lost within the last 100 years. On average, about 4 aircrafts and 20 yachts go missing every year.
Mary Celeste - The Ghost Ship
The Mary Celeste, known as the Ghost Ship, has had many misadventures and navigation issues even before going on a mysterious voyage in 1872. But that time, even though the ship was salvaged in pieces, no one on board has ever left a trace.
First Aviation Disaster
The first aviation catastrophe of the year came when Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared shortly after taking off in Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing on March 8. There has been no trace of the plane or any of the 239 people on board ever since and the search is ongoing. The drama and confusion surrounding this particular crash came from the fact that the plane, which was traveling in clear skies, the search area changed directions completely once tracking data showed that the plane made a significant and unplanned turn away from the scheduled flight path and towards the Indian.
Tudor Star Tiger
Star Tiger, a Tudor Mark 4 aircraft disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle shortly before it was about to land at the Bermuda airport. Its location has remained unknown since.
Direction Perception
The Bermuda Triangle not only causes people to lose track of where they were in the triangle, but it is also one of the rare places on Earth where the compass does not point toward Magnetic North. Instead, it points toward where North truly directs, which causes confusion throughout navigators, and is why countless numbers of air / water crafts lose their course in the triangle.
Process Paper
In National History Day, it all started off by myself , Patrick Bernabe. In the process of completing my project, I was in need of assistance for the first time. So, on a Saturday morning I went to school where Ms. Tanner was waiting for me. She guided me through the rules, steps, and procedures very carefully and clearly. My first topic was on King Henry in the Medieval Times. I was off to a great start, but then I got tired of information on his life and how he became ruler. After that, an idea popped up into my mind. I said to myself, "why not do the Bermuda Triangle?" I had gathered information and had built onward from there. I started off with my thesis statement, which was "The Bermuda Triangle is a mysterious place where many encounters sank to the bottom of the Atlantic." I had also gathered a few interesting facts off of history.com while I was there. Later on, I was on my own, which meant I was responsible for my own project. I built on from my thesis, and I was off to a great start. However, I shouldn't have had high hopes for myself. That's when things got complicated, I was confused, I thought to my self that I needed a second hand. That's when I came up with an idea of finding a helpful and reliable partner. I asked many people, but most people said had declined my request. Finally I found a helping hand and his name was Michael. He is very smart in computer technology, so that's when we got the idea of starting a website. With the two of us working together nothing could get in our way. Together, we added all the necessary information, pictures, research, and facts that were needed in this project. So far, things were going great for the two of us. Michael helped with the website layout to help make the website look organized and great. We also revised and edited our mistakes and spelling errors. In the end we were happy with joy with relief on our faces looking at the huge accomplishment we made.
Fun Facts:
Despite the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, airplanes and ships continue to fly or sail through the region frequently.
Some investigations into the Bermuda Triangle disappearances indicate that it has been human error or simply bad weather to blame.
Some theories about the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle have included pirate interference, hurricanes, magnetic abnormalities, deliberate sinking of ships, and huge waves.In 1918 the USS Cyclops left Barbados with a crew of 309 and was never seen again.
In 1945 five bombers in training went missing in the Bermuda Triangle. The rescue plane sent to search for them never returned either.
One pilot reported, "Everything looks strange, even the ocean," prior to disappearing forever.
Theories
The Bermuda Triangle has many theories based off of it, with the most common being magnetic vortices, where large hot and cold currents collide and create electromagnetic waves, that interfere with nearby ships' functioning mechanisms, which could support the reason why they can't send distress calls.
Many believe that there are many reasons that the Bermuda Triangle interferes like this. People believe that UFO's and aliens are main causes for these issues. Some theorists have even linked the mysteries to the Lost City of Atlantis.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion, The Bermuda Triangle's Mysteries still exist today despite the many discoveries and theories over the years. Many of these mysteries have occurred for countless reasons, none that can be explained, from compass failure, to alien interference. There may be a true reason for this to happen, but would society accept it without evidence? The Bermuda Triangle will most likely remain as one of the world's most mysterious areas.