5. Nevada Triangle
The Nevada Triangle is misleadingly titled, seeing as the area of bizarre activity stretches into three different US states. The area, half the size of England, spans across California and even into Arizona, as well as the state that gave it its name. But even given its massive size, the number of planes the triangle has claimed in truly unsettling. Over a period of around 60 years, several sources have placed the number of plane crashes in the triangle at over 2000. This is owing to the strong ocean winds that sweep the 25,000 square mile stretch, and the Sierra Nevada mountain range that makes pilots susceptible to the "Mountain Wave". This phenomenon occurs when strong winds hit steep mountains, creating turbulence and potentially damaging aircraft that get caught in it. The mountainous regions also ensure that search and recovery attempts are often impossible, and many planes simply disappear in the region without a trace. These frequent disappearances have naturally garnered a lot of conspiracist attention, not least because the triangle closely neighbours the infamous Area 51.
4. The Michigan Triangle
The saga of the Michigan Triangle began in 1891, when a boat named the Thomas Hume began its journey across Lake Michigan to collect lumber. The ship and its 7 crew members disappeared entirely, somewhere within the triad of coordinates mapped out by a succession of strange occurrences. Perhaps the most famous of which was the case of Steven Kubacki, who said he was going skiing near the lake one day in 1978. When he didn’t return home, a search found his skis on the beach, and his footprints leading towards the frozen lake. The ice was unbroken, and there was no trace whatsoever of Steven’s movements for another 15 months. Then one day, he awoke, 700 miles from the Lake, in clothes that weren’t his, and was completely surprised to find out he’d been gone so long. Ship captain Richard Donner also disappeared in the triangle, from inside his locked cabin, without his crew even knowing for 3 hours. This and other mysterious disappearances have led to legends about paranormal events and time dilation within the triangle, none of which can be explained.
3. The Racetrack
Located in the ominously named Death Valley National Park in California, The Racetrack is a dry lakebed known as a playa. Despite being exceptionally flat and level, the only routes to The Racetrack are rough, dangerous roads that will often leave visitors stranded with flat tyres and no cell service. In fact, off-road driving is banned entirely in the Racetrack valley because of the fragile desert ground that can retain tyre tracks for years to come. But that hasn’t stopped some travellers across the playa from leaving their tracks in the ground. Said travellers are the famous ‘Sailing Stones’, a number of dolomite and syenite slabs ranging in size from hundreds of grams to hundreds of kilograms. These rocks inexplicably move across the ground with no human or animal intervention, bemusing experts for nearly 100 years. Theories as to what goes on in the Racetrack Playa have ranged from strong winds to alien intervention, although it may have been solved by a 2013 study from UC San Diego. They suggested the stones were pushed along by melting ice sheets, although some paranormal die-hards remain unconvinced.
2. The Devil’s Sea
credit: third party image reference
The Devil’s Sea, or the Dragon’s Triangle, or Evil Sea, or any in a long list of ominous names, is an area of the Pacific Ocean, about 60 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. It’s earned its name for a number of ships that have gone missing in the area, believed to span 200 miles east to west, and about 300 miles north to south. This all began between 1950 and 1954, in which time the story - based on a series of New York Times articles - claims that 9 different ships were lost in supposedly perfect weather. But the string of inexplicable occurrences didn’t stop there. The Kaiyo Maru #5, a research vessel ferrying 31 crew members and scientists, was sent to investigate the disappearances, but also disappeared entirely. The legend of the Devil’s Sea has invited many sceptics, and the disappearances are often attributed to seismic activity in the region, such as underwater volcanoes. However, given that there was supposedly no trace of the vessels, many have cried alien intervention. Japanese mythology has also entered many theories, with claims of dragons and undersea monsters claiming the ships.
1. The Sargasso Sea
credit: third party image reference
Just to the east of the Bermuda Triangle is a body of water less well known, but no less mired in infamous mythology. The only sea without land borders, The Sargasso sea is strangely warm and calm, despite being surrounded by the freezing, choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. So named after the thick collections of Sargassum seaweed on its surface which can often be mistaken for unmapped landmasses by confused seafarers. This might explain the slew of ships that have disappeared in the region, many of which are said to enter the Sargasso sea with a crew, and leave completely unmanned. The most famous of these ships was the French merchant ship Rosalie, which passed through the peaceful Sargasso sea in 1840. As The Times read on November 6, 1840: “ The cargo [...] was of very considerable value, and was in a most perfect condition.” There was no sign of piracy or theft, no leaks, and the ship had its sails set, appearing to have only recently been abandoned. This and other eerie disappearances have spurred countless folk tales, including sailor-eating carnivorous seaweed.
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