The Bermuda Triangle, Pt. 1: Missing Planes & Commercial Crashes...

The Bermuda Triangle is a roughly defined area of the North Atlantic Ocean, typically marked by three points, including Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.

Together, they form a vast triangle covering up to 600,000 square miles of open ocean, and within these waters lie natural powerful forces: the Gulf Stream, the Sargasso Sea, and the deep Puerto Rico Trench, all of which have shaped both the natural and human history of this area for centuries.

The northernmost point of the triangle is Bermuda, a small group of islands with a long and storied past.

The area was discovered by Europeans in 1505 by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, who gave the island his name but never settled on it.

For early sailors, Bermuda quickly gained a reputation as a dangerous place, surrounded by coral reefs that destroyed countless ships.

In 1609, the English ship Sea Venture, headed for Jamestown, Virginia, was wrecked on those same reefs during a violent storm.

The passengers on board used the island's resources to build new vessels and continue their journey, and their presence led to the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1612.

Over the following centuries, Bermuda became a strategic outpost for the British Royal Navy, serving as a key refueling and defense point in the Atlantic.

Early sailors called it the Isle of Devils, frightened by the howling winds, eerie bird calls, and frequent storms that seemed to perpetually haunt the island, a reputation that later fed into the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle itself.

The eerie cries that early sailors heard, now known to be the calls of the native cahow birds, were long mistaken for the wailing of devils and demons, which gave the island its sinister name.

I mean, you can only imagine back in the 1600s arriving at this far-off place and hearing a howling wind.

Maybe there's a thunderstorm above, and all of a sudden, as you approach this uncharted land, you hear this screeching, this screaming.

So imagine hearing that, thousands of those noises echoing towards you from this island.

Yeah, I think I would be a little bit creeped out.

But to the west-West lies Florida, home to the modern city of Miami, which forms the triangle's second point.

Long before European contact, the region was inhabited by the Indigenous peoples like the Tequesta and Calusa.

In 1513, Juan Ponce de León claimed Florida for Spain, and over the next three centuries, it would pass between Spanish, British, and eventually American control before becoming a US state in 1845.

Florida's location made it one of the busiest ocean crossroads in the Atlantic, and the powerful Gulf Stream current runs along its eastern coast, carrying warm water and unpredictable weather northward.

For centuries, ships navigating these waters faced rapidly changing conditions and strong currents that could easily push them off course.

In the 20th century, as aviation emerged, Miami became a major air hub, and it was from here that several of the triangle's most famous disappearances began.

The third point of the triangle, Puerto Rico, adds both historical depth and geological intrigue to the region.

Before European arrival, it was home to the Taino people, a marine culture that navigated the Caribbean long before Christopher Columbus.

Columbus claimed Puerto Rico for Spain during his second voyage in 1493, and it soon became one of the empire's most important colonies, serving as a military and trading base that linked Europe and the Americas.

Off its northern coast lies the Puerto Rico Trench, plunging to nearly 27,500 feet, which is considered the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean.

This extreme underwater landscape, combined with complex currents and shifting weather patterns, has long been cited by scientists as a factor in some of the mysterious disappearances associated with the Bermuda Triangle.

The Bermuda Triangle is a roughly defined area of the North Atlantic Ocean, typically marked by three points, including Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.

Together, they form a vast triangle covering up to 600,000 square miles of open ocean, and within these waters lie natural powerful forces: the Gulf Stream, the Sargasso Sea, and the deep Puerto Rico Trench, all of which have shaped both the natural and human history of this area for centuries.

The northernmost point of the triangle is Bermuda, a small group of islands with a long and storied past.

The area was discovered by Europeans in 1505 by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, who gave the island his name but never settled on it.

For early sailors, Bermuda quickly gained a reputation as a dangerous place, surrounded by coral reefs that destroyed countless ships.

In 1609, the English ship Sea Venture, headed for Jamestown, Virginia, was wrecked on those same reefs during a violent storm.

The passengers on board used the island's resources to build new vessels and continue their journey, and their presence led to the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1612.

Over the following centuries, Bermuda became a strategic outpost for the British Royal Navy, serving as a key refueling and defense point in the Atlantic.

Early sailors called it the Isle of Devils, frightened by the howling winds, eerie bird calls, and frequent storms that seemed to perpetually haunt the island, a reputation that later fed into the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle itself.

The eerie cries that early sailors heard, now known to be the calls of the native cahow birds, were long mistaken for the wailing of devils and demons, which gave the island its sinister name.

I mean, you can only imagine back in the 1600s arriving at this far-off place and hearing a howling wind.

Maybe there's a thunderstorm above, and all of a sudden, as you approach this uncharted land, you hear this screeching, this screaming.

So imagine hearing that, thousands of those noises echoing towards you from this island.

Yeah, I think I would be a little bit creeped out.

But to the west-West lies Florida, home to the modern city of Miami, which forms the triangle's second point.

Long before European contact, the region was inhabited by the Indigenous peoples like the Tequesta and Calusa.

In 1513, Juan Ponce de León claimed Florida for Spain, and over the next three centuries, it would pass between Spanish, British, and eventually American control before becoming a US state in 1845.

Florida's location made it one of the busiest ocean crossroads in the Atlantic, and the powerful Gulf Stream current runs along its eastern coast, carrying warm water and unpredictable weather northward.

For centuries, ships navigating these waters faced rapidly changing conditions and strong currents that could easily push them off course.

In the 20th century, as aviation emerged, Miami became a major air hub, and it was from here that several of the triangle's most famous disappearances began.

The third point of the triangle, Puerto Rico, adds both historical depth and geological intrigue to the region.

Before European arrival, it was home to the Taino people, a marine culture that navigated the Caribbean long before Christopher Columbus.

Columbus claimed Puerto Rico for Spain during his second voyage in 1493, and it soon became one of the empire's most important colonies, serving as a military and trading base that linked Europe and the Americas.

Off its northern coast lies the Puerto Rico Trench, plunging to nearly 27,500 feet, which is considered the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean.

This extreme underwater landscape, combined with complex currents and shifting weather patterns, has long been cited by scientists as a factor in some of the mysterious disappearances associated with the Bermuda Triangle.