Of all the sites that are unexplained, the Bermuda Triangle is usually the first one that comes to mind. Located in the Caribbean, it is renowned for the ships and radio signals that have disappeared without explanation in recent years. Yet, there is another, perhaps lesser known region in which the inexplicable occurs. This location is often referred to quite simply as Mexico's Zone of Silence.
A Land Were Radio Signals Die
Located in the Chihuahuan Desert (not titled such for an unexplained number of dogs), Mexico's Zone of Silence is precisely what it sounds like: a pocket of land in which radio signals die, preventing communication to and from the area, and directionality loses all meaning. According to reports from visitors of the area, which is also known as the Mapimí Silent Zone, if one brings a compass as a backup tool, that person is out of luck—the arrow of the compass will spin uncontrollably, confusing all sense of direction. Consider the spinning compass from Disney's Pocahontas…just without the sage old Grandmother Willow to decipher the compass' meaning.
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One of the most prominent investigators of the Zone is a man called Benjamin Palacios, known for his somewhat touristy home and the tours of the Zone he provides to visitors to the region. However, it seems that the mysteries of this site were not always known.
Rumors abound that the Mexican government hid the unexplained occurrences, possibly evidenced by the lack of tourist sites, hotels, etc. nearby the desert. Supposedly the site was only exposed to the public as unusual when an American missile mistakenly crashed in the Zone of Silence. While retrieving the missile, United States agents were exposed to the unexplained.
An article regarding the statement from the US government claims that,
"On July 11, 1970, the United States Air Force launched an ATHENA V-123-D rocket from Green River Launch Complex in Utah. While its intended target was the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, it impacted '180-200 miles south of the Mexican border,' according to a recently released memorandum sent from the desk of Henry Kissinger, then serving as National Security Advisor to President Nixon."
It appears, if this quote is accurate, that a technological error revealed the Zone of Silence as an unexplained, possibly alien, site.
As is the case with most locations described as unexplained, "research" is ongoing to determine what other factors might be playing a role in the strange activity of the site. Reports of plant and animal investigations are plentiful, as well as an examination of the geological make-up of the region.
Stories of Alien Sightings in the Zone of Silence
And, of course, as with all locations in which the words "unexplained" or "inexplicable" are attached to their names, rumors of alien investigations are equally extensive.
It appears that numerous people have reported UFOs in the region, strange lights, and burning bushes, not unlike those described anywhere near Roswell, New Mexico or Area 51. It is also intriguing for theorists to point out the Zone of Silence falls on the same coordinates as the Bermuda Triangle, itself only recently (likely) explained.
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More Earthly Explanations
Yet, aside from the numerous theories of UFO and alien influence in the Zone's fifty-kilometer (31-mile) radius, the unexplained occurrences might, in fact, have explanations. Scientists have discovered underground deposits of meteorite debris called magnetite. Essentially, magnetics beneath the surface of the desert are what disrupt radio waves and the metal arrow of compasses.
This theory further explains the enigmatic site when one realizes that meteorites striking the Chihuahuan Desert were not uncommon in the 1900s; three have been reported striking the desert between 1938 and 1969. Those that prefer the theory of aliens likely do not hold much stock in the meteorite claims. Perhaps these people prefer to insist on a government cover-up, or an extraterrestrial trick.
Regardless, it appears that the Zone of Silence remains among the list of the unexplained, more than likely because it is far more beneficial for tourist revenue than the title "the Zone of the not-so-unexplained Silence."
Top Image: The Mexican Zone of Silence (Zona del Silencio). Source: Visual Evidences of Higher Intelligence from Antiquity
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