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# What is the Bermuda Triangle? 

## The Bermuda Triangle is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which ships, planes, and people are alleged to have mysteriously vanished.

This map shows the general location of the infamous Bermuda Triangle. 

For decades,  the Atlantic Ocean’s fabled Bermuda Triangle has captured the human imagination  with unexplained disappearances of ships, planes, and people.

Some speculate that unknown and mysterious forces account for the unexplained  disappearances, such as extraterrestrials capturing humans for study; the influence  of the lost continent of Atlantis; vortices that suck objects into other  dimensions; and other whimsical ideas.  Some  explanations are more grounded in science, if not in evidence.  These include oceanic flatulence (methane gas  erupting from ocean sediments) and disruptions in geomagnetic lines of flux.

Environmental  considerations could explain many, if not most, of the disappearances.  The majority of Atlantic tropical storms and  hurricanes pass through the Bermuda Triangle, and in the days prior to  improved weather forecasting, these dangerous storms claimed  many ships.  Also, the Gulf Stream can  cause rapid, sometimes violent, changes in weather.  Additionally, the large number of islands in  the Caribbean Sea creates many areas of shallow water that can be treacherous  to ship navigation. And there is some evidence to suggest that the Bermuda  Triangle is a place where a “magnetic” compass sometimes points towards “true”  north, as opposed to “magnetic” north.  

The U.S. Navy  and U.S. Coast Guard contend that there are no supernatural explanations for  disasters at sea.  Their experience suggests  that the combined forces of nature and human fallibility outdo even the most  incredulous science fiction. They add that no official maps exist that  delineate the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle. The U. S. Board of Geographic  Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not  maintain an official file on the area. 

The ocean has  always been a mysterious place to humans, and when foul weather or poor  navigation is involved, it can be a very deadly place.  This is true all over the world.  There is no evidence that mysterious  disappearances occur with any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in  any other large, well-traveled area of the ocean.  

***This text of this Ocean Fact was posted on January 4, 2010, and has not been altered since then.***

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          - Does  the Bermuda Triangle really exist?  –  U.S.  Coast Guard

**Last updated:**   01/18/24**Author:** NOAAHow to cite this article

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