Lightning of the Catatumbo

It is a unique meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the south in the Lake Maracaibo basin in Zulia State, Venezuela, whose name derives from the Catatumbo River. This phenomenon is characterized by an almost continuous and silent lightning that occurs in clouds of great vertical development forming electric arcs between 2 and 10 kilometers in height (or more). Scientists from the Scientific Modeling Center indicate that it would be more appropriate to talk about the Catatumbo lightning bolts, because they tend to occur in multiple places every night, but from a distance they are seen as a single phenomenon. It is one of the 5 most known natural phenomena worldwide.

It has an annual occurrence of 140 to 160 nights or more, lasting up to 10 hours per night and produces up to 280 downloads per hour. In addition, these electrical storms produce a high percentage of the entire ozone layer generated worldwide so the Catatumbo lightning can be considered as one of the main individual regenerators of the planet's ozone layer, producing approximately 1,176,000 electrical discharges atmospheric

Origin

The origin of this phenomenon is in the orographic effect of these mountain ranges that enclose and brake the northeasterly winds; thus, clouds of great vertical development are produced, concentrated mainly in the Catatumbo river basin. This phenomenon is very easy to see from hundreds of kilometers away, as from Cúcuta, in Colombia, or from the lake itself (where there are usually no clouds at night). For this reason, it is also known as the Maracaibo Lighthouse, since the boats that sailed the area could sail during the night without problems at the time of sailing. It can occur up to 260 times a year and lasts up to 10 hours per night; In addition, this phenomenon can reach 60 downloads per minute.
Although it is true that electrical storms produce a high amount of ozone, and Catatumbo has the highest density of electrical discharges in the world, with more than 200 / km² / year, 123 it is very unlikely that this ozone will reach the stratosphere and regenerate the ozone layer.

Social and tourism impact

Catatumbo lightning is admired by Venezuelan society, especially in the northwestern state of Zulia, which has a lightning bolt on its official shield to symbolize the phenomenon. Also the letter of the anthem of the Zulia State, whose author is the Zuliano Udón Pérez, includes a stanza that makes reference to this phenomenon:

"The light with which the lightning / tenacious of the Catatumbo / of the nauta fixes the course / which limpid lantern"
The wari ethnic group defines it as "the concentration of millions of cocuyos (fireflies) that meet every night in the Catatumbo to pay tribute to the fathers of creation", while the yucpas and the Wayúu attribute it to the presence of the spirits of the fallen guajiros that shine as a kind of message, besides considering it the "eternal radiance in the heights".
A Zulian bagpipe (in addition to many other songs and works) refers to the Catatumbo phenomenon:
A bagpipe around the world / is a message of love / and the Catatumbo beam / gives light with its brightness.

On March 20, 2003, the environmentalist Erik Quiroga asked the then Environment Minister Ana Elisa Osorio to include in the UNESCO Natural Heritage List, the Juan Manuel Ciénagas National Park and the Epicenter of Catatumbo Lightning, and to achieve for Zulia and Venezuela "The First Meteorological Phenomenon" "World Heritage Site in the World. From the mentioned date until last year the aforementioned request has been publicly reiterated. It was declared a Natural Heritage of Zulia on September 27, 2005.

On August 23, 2013 environmentalist Erik Quiroga requested the organization of the Guinness Book of Records in London, to assign a new World Record for the Catatumbo Lightning region for having the "World's Largest Lightning Average per square kilometer per year. ": 250 lightning strikes per km2 per year". On November 23, 2013 the application is accepted and on January 28, 2014, on the Zulianity Day it is officially accredited and presented as the planet's site with the highest generation of lightning per square kilometer per year.
The National Administration of Aeronautics and Space of the United States confirmed on May 2, 2016 on its web portal that the mentioned region is "the new capital of lightning".

You can get more specifications in this report:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rel%C3%A1mpago_del_Catatumbo
http://geologiavenezolana.blogspot.com/2011/06/las-7-maravillas-geologicas-de.html

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