The Bermuda Triangle -- sometimes called the Devil's Triangle, Limbo of the Lost, the Twilight Zone, and Hoodoo Sea -- covers some 500,000 square mi of the Atlantic Ocean. Its apexes are most commonly defined as Bermuda, the southernmost tip of Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico,
The bizarre disappearances attributed to the Triangle have been linked to everything from alien abduction to sorcery. Although the mystery has not yet been completely solved, there are scientific explanations for many of the maritime disasters that have occurred in the Triangle. The most obvious answers are linked to extreme weather conditions with which any Bermudian fisherman would be well acquainted. "White squalls" -- intense, unexpected storms that arrive without warning on otherwise clear days -- are probable culprits along with waterspouts, the equivalent of sea tornadoes.
infamous Triangle suggests that the freakish disappearance of ships and aircraft could be the result of large deposits of methane gas spewing up from the ocean floor. Huge eruptions of methane bubbles may push water away from a ship, causing it to sink. If the highly flammable methane then rises into the air, it could ignite in an airplane's engine -- causing it to explode and disappear.
Fact or fiction, the Bermuda Triangle is a part of local lore that won't disappear anytime soon. But don't let the legend scare you away -- the Triangle isn't the only thing that makes this island seem magical.
