Pilot Francisco Sarabia was flying over a
patch of desert land in Mexico when his instruments started to act increasingly odd. But that wasn’t the only problem he was
facing: his radio equipment was failing too. Disoriented and alarmed, the man had to make
an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere. Little did he know that this "nowhere" would
be later dubbed "the Zone of Silence," and the mystery behind this place would equal
that of the infamous Bermuda Triangle. If you ever find yourself in a desert, 25
miles (40 km) away from Ceballos, Mexico, and just 400 miles (650 km) to the south of
El Paso, Texas, get yourself ready - you're in the Mapimí Silent Zone, and some bizarre
things might start to happen right away. As I've already mentioned, Francisco Sarabia
discovered the anomalous zone in the middle of a desert in the 1930s, when something unknown
began to interfere with his airplane's routine operations. But despite being the first, he wasn't the
only one who experienced the inexplicable activity of the Zone. In 1964, the state-owned company PEMEX (which
stands for Petróleos Mexicanos) sent engineer Harry de la Peña to explore the desert in
that region. The man had to figure out if it was possible
to construct an oil pipeline running to Jiménez, Chihuahua, in the north of Mexico. However, this expedition didn't exactly turn
out as expected, and the main reason for that was radio anomalies that affected every single
radio in the team. They simply wouldn't function. Like, at all. In fact, Harry de la Peña was the first to
give the Zone of Silence its name. Interestingly, the man was so intrigued by
this mysterious area that he kept returning there to find out more about the anomaly. He found out that dead radio zones couldn't
be mapped because they seemed to wander all over the place. No one could explain the phenomenon. But thanks to the engineer's reports, the
Mapimí Silent Zone got its eerie reputation. On the other hand, weird radio silence isn't
the only oddity of the creepy Zone. Oh no, there are other, even more perplexing
mysteries. Like, what’s that weird trio that locals
keep meeting in the Zone? They’re two men and a woman, all three of
them blond, which is already weird for that region. Interestingly, every time people see them,
they’re wearing bizarre clothing that isn't suitable for a journey in the desert whatsoever. The strangers not only speak Spanish as fluently
as the locals, but they’re also attractive and polite, to the extreme. The story has it that the trio frequents one
ranch, and their motive is always the same. When they arrive, they don't ask for food,
money, or shelter. All they need is to fill their bottles with
the water from the well. Only once, one of the ranch workers dared
to ask the visitors where they'd come from. But all he got in reply was three enigmatic
smiles and the words "from above." But that's not all. In October 1975, two fossil hunters, Ernesto
and Josefina Diaz, headed toward the Zone of Silence to collect as many rare samples
and unusual rocks as they could find. But this adventure didn't go as smoothly as
they hoped, and almost ended in a disaster. Immersed in their work, the couple didn't
notice a violent rainstorm coming toward them until it was too late. They tried to escape by jumping into their
car and driving away at full speed, but they weren't fast enough to dodge a flash flood. The situation was becoming more dire with
every passing minute, and the ground around their vehicle was slowly but surely turning
into a boggy swamp that was threatening to suck them in. The couple was stranded inside the car and
was preparing for the worst. But then, something inexplicable happened. When Ernesto and Josefina saw two men approaching
them, they thought they were hallucinating. But no, the men seemed real; tall and well-built,
they were wearing identical bright yellow raincoats and caps. They promised to free the couple from the
trap, and, true to their word, the Diaz's car was out of danger and on firm ground in
a matter of minutes. However, when Ernesto climbed out of the vehicle
to thank the men, they were nowhere to be found. Mystery unsolved. On top of all that, the Zone of Silence is
known as a 30-mile (50 km) patch of deserted land where meteorites come crashing down on
an eerily regular basis. In the 20th century alone, there were quite
a number of such crashes, with two of the meteorites miraculously falling in the same
spot, but 16 years apart, in 1938 and 1954. Eye-witnesses of one of the most impressive
falls, in 1969, claimed they couldn't forget that event for years. One of them was a man named Benjamin Palacios,
who’d been living on the edge of the Mapimí Silent Zone his whole life. He woke up at night to find the sky as bright
as if it were daytime. The light could be seen miles away, and it
was accompanied by a tremendous noise. It was so loud that the windows were breaking
in the nearby houses. Then, the meteorite exploded into thousands
of pieces that littered the ground for miles, creating one of the biggest strewn fields
known. And still, there’s even more to the Zone
of Silence. On July 11, 1970, the US launched an ATHENA
rocket from the Air Force base in Green River, Utah to collect more data on how vehicles
behaved when they reentered the upper atmosphere. But here's the thing: the rocket was supposed
to land somewhere in the area of White Sands in New Mexico. Instead, it went off course and, as if being
pulled by some external force, crashed right in the heart of the Zone of Silence. Was it a coincidence, or a freaky irregularity? The US authorities asked for permission to
retrieve the rocket debris, and the Mexican government granted them access to the site. But in the process, the search party could
tell that something was tampering with all their communications. That's why it was incredibly difficult to
coordinate the work of the teams. Besides interrupted radio signals, people
also had issues with satellite and television signals. Some theorists even supposed that strong magnetic
fields in the area had somehow created a so-called dark zone for modern technologies. It all sounds very, very mysterious, but let's
figure out what stands behind these stories. Understandably, scientists have been trying
to explain the things happening in the Zone of Silence for years. The most plausible conclusion they've drawn
so far is the influence of minerals that are deposited deep underground. For example, some scientists are sure that
high levels of magnetite and uranium in the area may be responsible for the lack of radio
signals. Besides, as you remember, the Zone of Silence
is covered with debris from the fallen meteorites, which are usually rich in iron and other metals. They might be the reason for the Zone's signal
anomalies as well. On the other hand, some experts disagree that
the Zone of Silence attracts more meteorites than any other place on Earth. They also state that there’s not enough
evidence to prove that something paranormal or unusual is happening there. As they say, all the rumors about the abnormal
nature of the area are exaggerated and ridiculous. But even skeptics can't deny that there’ve
been cases of radio communication loss and weird signal tampering. On the other hand, this phenomenon may have
another rational explanation: the Zone of Silence is surrounded by a mountain range
which can easily cause interference. As for the mysterious friendly people strolling
through the desert, experts are sure that they’re nothing but an urban legend created
to lure curious souls and develop local tourism. But even without these stories and blood-chilling
legends, the zone is nothing short of marvelous. Scientists say that the environment of the
area is genuinely unique, with its own flora and fauna species. For instance, you can find 31 kinds of plants
there that only grow in this region, as well as 75 species of protected animals, including
the desert tortoise, which has a vulnerable status nowadays. Also, the place is swarming with fossils,
which can shed light on the history of the region. It’s no wonder that in 1979, the Zone of
Silence became a part of the Mapimí Bolsón Biosphere Reserve, with a laboratory built
next to the mountain range Cerro San Ignacio. Well…Do you know any other mysterious place
on our planet? Let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give
this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don't go silent on me just
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