If you love the fresh smell of ozone after rain and bright summer thunderstorms, you simply must visit amazing place, captivating with its wild power and uniqueness. It is located in the northwestern part of Venezuela where Lake Maracaibo merges with the Catatumbo River.

It doesn’t look like a standard attraction, if only because you can’t see anything like it anywhere else on Earth, and also because it’s not a place, but unique phenomenon nature. Eternal lightning of Catatumbo, that’s what they call him. As a result of the accumulation of powerful charges of energy, thunderclouds constantly collide here, and the strongest thunderstorms on earth with lightning are observed about 200 days a year. 280 lightning strikes per hour and 40,000 in one night thunderstorm, it seems incredible!

This unique phenomenon of the eternal thunderstorms of Catatumbo has awakened horror and simultaneous admiration in local residents since ancient times. Here it is also called “rib ha-ba”, which means “fiery river in the sky”. European navigators called it “the lighthouse of Maracaibo.” Eternal lightning has been mentioned more than once in historical chronicles, and in literary works. This is what is said about them in the poem “Dragontea” about the travels of Francis Drake. This phenomenon even gave its name sniper rifle, produced in Venezuela - "Catatumbo".

You can watch the eternal thunderstorms of Catatumbo endlessly, especially since each of them is completely unique. All zippers differ in their shapes and sizes, as well as color. Here, depending on the level of air humidity, they can be painted pink, orange, snow-white, yellow and even blood red.

As for scientific explanation occurrence of eternal lightning in Catatumbo, then experts declare an amazing combination of unusual conditions: an abundance of methane from local swamps and powerful constant flows ionized air from the peaks of the Andes.
According to scientists, the eternal thunderstorm Catatumbo is the most powerful source ozone on our planet, and it is thanks to them that we are protected from negative impact ultraviolet radiation.

Many lucky people who managed to see this phenomenon live are surprised by the absence of thunder with such a huge number of lightning. There is no secret to this. Lightning is too far away at an altitude of several kilometers, so the sounds of thunder simply do not reach the ground. Only the incredible brightness of these thunderstorms gives the illusion that they are happening very close to us.

IN currently eternal lightning Catatumbo is on the waiting list to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In order to see the eternal lightning of Catatumbo with your own eyes, you first need to fly to the capital of Venezuela, the city of Caracas. Next you need to go to the city of Maracaibo, which is the capital of the state of Zulia, where a unique natural phenomenon is observed. You can arrive to Caracas from Russia by many flights, usually with 1-2 transfers. You can get from Caracas to Maracaibo either by plane or by bus. You can independently observe the eternal lightning of Catatumbo on the road between Maracaibo and San Cristobal, and organized tourist groups go to them from the city of Merida.

Our world seems familiar to us, studied far and wide, open and long ago explained. The man is eager to deep space, but sometimes nature throws up curious riddles for the “fedigious”. Miracles of heaven and earth, phenomena that we have heard about more than once, but even with the entire powerful arsenal available modern science, some of the mysteries of nature, humanity is not able to explain.

There is a place on earth where lightning strikes every day for hundreds of years. This place is called “Catatumbo Lightning” (Spanish Relámpago del Catatumbo) and it is located in Venezuela, above the confluence of the Catatumbo River into Lake Maracaibo, in the north-west of the country. Lake Maracaibo is considered the largest in the territory South America. The area of ​​this lake is 13,210 square kilometers.

In addition, it is one of the oldest lakes on our planet (some experts believe that it is the second oldest). Lives on the shores of Maracaibo most of population of Venezuela. And the wealth that this lake possesses allows Venezuela to live in prosperity.

At night, high in the sky above the Catatumbo Valley, glows flash with minimal intervals of a couple of seconds, at an altitude of five to ten (!) kilometers, without accompanying acoustic effects. There is no rain, and thunder strikes are not heard precisely because lightning flashes at a great height. Lightning mostly travels from cloud to cloud and rarely reaches the ground. The charges have a force of over 400,000 amperes each. This adds up to about 1.2 million discharges per year.

Lightning is so powerful that it can be seen at a distance of several hundred kilometers. They last for 10 hours and occur approximately 280 times per hour. Lightning illuminates the vast surrounding area until the morning. In the old days, sailors called this amazing natural phenomenon the “Maracaibo Lighthouse” (Faro de Maracaibo), since continuous lightning strikes can be seen at a distance of 400 kilometers. Often the phenomenon of Catatumbo is seen even by residents of the island of Aruba, which is located five hundred kilometers from their epicenter.

According to NASA observations, 100 electrical discharges occur every second on the planet, of which 1% occur in Catatumbo, whose average number of discharges per second is more than one.

Legends and eyewitness accounts

The peoples who had long inhabited Venezuela already knew about this phenomenon. In the language of the Wari Indians who have lived in these places since ancient times, Catatumbo means “god of thunder.” From time immemorial, the Wari Indians consider Catatumbo lightning to be a huge gathering of fireflies that gather together to honor the gods who created the Universe with their light.

In turn, the Yukpas Indians are confident that lightning is nothing more than the souls of dead people. The Wayuu (a group of Venezuelan Indians) claim that it represents the spirit of those killed in battle and a message from the eternal sunshine on high.

First written mention this unusual phenomenon was introduced to the general public of the Old World by the epic poem “La Dragontea”, 1598, written by Lope de Vega, who is considered key figure Spanish literature of the golden age of the Baroque. This poem is dedicated to the hated Spanish king Philip II to a pirate in the service of the British crown, Sir Francis Drake.

The surname Drake is consonant with the word dragon, which de Vega took advantage of, paying tribute to the military talent and courage of the vice admiral in his work. According to the legends of the corsairs, lightning over Catatumbo, habitually illuminating the impenetrable blackness of the tropical sky, foiled in 1595 Drake, who was unfamiliar with this phenomenon, a plan for an unexpected assault on the city of Morocaibo under the cover of darkness.

On July 24, 1823, lightning helped again. This time, lightning illuminated the ships of José Padilla Prudencio, who commanded the Spanish fleet during the Venezuelan War of Independence. His attack was not unexpected, so the Spanish admiral was defeated. The outcome of this battle influenced the course of the entire war. People living in the state of Zulia still remember the role the natural lighthouse played in their destiny, so the image of lightning is even present on the coat of arms and flag of this district, and lightning is also mentioned in its anthem.

Study of the phenomenon

The mystery that revolves around Catatumbo has turned it into one of the world's most extraordinary and beautiful natural phenomena, and a scientific feast. Scientists cannot give an exact answer to the question of when the Catatumbo lightning appeared. They explain such an incredible number of lightning strikes by a unique combination natural factors. As a result of almost continuous lightning strikes for 140-160 nights a year, Catatumbo is called a natural ozone factory; myriads of lightning discharges up to 10% of the Earth's total ozone into the atmosphere.

Catatumbo lightning is believed to be the largest single generator of tropospheric ozone on Earth. The storm never changes its position. People living in this area observe it constantly in the same manifestation. Typically, Catatumbo lightning develops within the coordinates of 8 degrees 30" and 9 degrees 45" northern latitude, 71 degrees and 73 degrees west longitude, despite the fact that it covers a wide area, naturally, not all of it has the same thunderstorm activity.

The atmospheric phenomenon interested European researchers soon after the Spaniards appeared on the lake. However, naturally, the learned minds of the Middle Ages could not explain it. Catatumbo lightning was first studied in detail by the Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

In fundamental scientific work“Voyage aux regions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804 par Alexander Humboldt et Aime Bonpland” he described this unusual phenomenon as "electric flashes resembling a phosphorescent glow."

The phenomenon also interested the Italian geographer Agustin Cadazzi, who described it as “lightning emerging from the depths of the river.” In 1911, Melchor Bravo Centeno proposed a hypothesis that the key to the phenomenon lay in the interaction of the unique local topography, wind and heat.

Later, scientists studied the mechanism of the occurrence of Catatumbo lightning in more detail, however, so far no one has refuted the version proposed by Centeno, but many, relying on it, are still conducting their research.

In the second half of the 20th century, Venezuelan scientist of Russian origin Andrei Zavrotsky, Researcher The University of the Andes in Merida (Universidad de Los Andes, Merida) organized three expeditions to Lake Maracaibo between 1966 and 1970. They discovered that lightning appears from three epicenters - the swamps of the Juan Manuel de Juan Manuel National Park, in Claras Aguas Negras and in a place west of the lake.

In 1991 they were included in the National Park wetlands of Cienagas del Catatumbo. At that time, many believed that lightning was caused by the evaporation of oil, but Zavrotsky refuted this version, because in two of the three places he designated as epicenters, there was no “black gold”. But it led to the assumption that lightning is caused by the uranium content in the swamps.

According to statistics, the Catatumbo Delta is inferior in the number of thunderstorm days to such places as the Ugandan Tororo (251 days) or the Indonesian city of Bogor on the island of Java (Bogor, Java) (about 223 days, and in the period 1916-1919 an absolute record 322 days). However, it surpasses them in the quality of celestial illumination, since in these areas even the longest thunderstorms rarely last more than one to two hours.

During the expedition undertaken by scientist Nelson Falcon, another theory was put forward. The Catatumbo River passes through very large swamps, washing away organic materials, which, when decomposing, release huge clouds of ionized methane. The Andes mountain range, located next to Lake Maracaibo, up to 5 kilometers high, blocks the winds and thanks to this, the abundant evaporation of methane from the surface of the lake forms huge clouds that stretch upward, feeding lightning discharges. It sounds quite plausible, although this version also has weaknesses.

The fact is that the content of methane in the atmosphere above Maracaibo is not so high, and there are places in the world where there is much more of this substance in the air, but such a natural phenomenon does not occur there. In a word, scientists have not yet been able to completely solve the mystery of Catatumbo lightning, but research continues today. At the beginning of the 2000s, the same Nelson Falcon developed computer model microphysics of Catatumbo lightning, which confirmed that one of the reasons for their occurrence is methane released by swamps and oil fields.

Tourism object

Catatumbo lightning is a unique natural phenomenon, stunning with its beauty everyone who has ever seen it. Of course, the strongest impression from lightning can be obtained in the dark. The flares look especially impressive in the night sky. And it should be noted that nature seems to know at what time the lightning will look best - a thunderstorm tends to begin immediately after sunset.

It is interesting that lightning is often brought by a cloud descending from nearby mountains, while the rest of the sky is clear. In this case, the lightning flashes are very clear and bright. Often electrical discharges not only cut through the sky, but also hit the surface of the lake; in addition, due to special substances in the air, they turn orange and red. This spectacle is amazing, it’s not for nothing that thousands of tourists come to Lake Maracaibo from different corners peace.

The Catatumbo Lightning is not yet a well-known tourist attraction in Venezuela, but its popularity is gradually increasing. Enterprising tour operators mainly organize excursions to watch the celestial spectacle from the city of Merida.

The first part of the journey involves an approximately three-hour train ride to the fishing village of Puerto-Concha. If you wish, on the way you can visit the picturesque La Palmita waterfall (Cascada La Palmita) and the Guajaro karst cave (Cueva del Guacharo), where nocturnal Guajaro birds live among the bizarre shape of stalactites and stalagmites.

From the village of Puerto Concha, local guides organize an unforgettable river trip through a tropical forest Catatumbo to the Indian villages of Ologa and Congo-Mirador, located on stilts in the middle of the water.

The last village is considered best place to observe the bright flashes in the night sky that appear in the bay, in a pile village located in the municipality of Catatumbo in the southern part of Lake Maracaibo.

Catatumbo today

It is noteworthy that back in the middle of the last century, Catatumbo lightning illuminated the sky almost every night. Why the frequency of their occurrence has decreased is unknown. But today this natural phenomenon can be observed every day only from June to October. The rest of the time the probability of admiring such unique thunderstorm not that high.

Nowadays, thunderstorms occur in this area up to 160 days a year, and according to recollections local residents, before there were even more of them.

On September 27, 2005, the atmospheric phenomenon was declared a natural heritage of the Zulia department.

The most ardent admirers of heavenly fireworks led by the famous Venezuelan defender environment Erik Quiroga is even trying to get him on the list world heritage UNESCO (UNESCO World Heritage).

At one time, Eric Quiroga was one of the initiators of the proclamation of the UN General Assembly in 1994 International Day protection of the ozone layer, which is celebrated annually on September 16th. He also convinces the general public that lightning, which strikes the Catatumbo Delta 1.2–1.6 million times a year, is one of the main sources of the formation of the protective ozone layer.

But in this case, Quiroga is wishful thinking. Lightning in this area actually generates ozone in large quantities, but it is localized in the troposphere, without reaching the protective ozone layer concentrated much higher in the stratosphere.

In my attempts to attract as much as possible more attention To this natural phenomenon, Eric Quiroga raised the alarm in 2010, notifying the press that for six whole weeks from January to March, the Catatumbo delta was suddenly taken over by darkness and this was the second “switching off” of the Marocaibo lighthouse in more than a century.

The first, according to him, happened in 1906, after an earthquake caused by a tsunami with an amplitude of 8.8 points, and lasted three weeks. Quiroga attributes the latest break to the drought in Venezuela caused by the El Niño effect.

Professor Angel Munoz, who heads the lightning research team at the Center for Scientific Modeling at the University of Zulia (Centro de Modelado Cientifico La Universidad del Zulia), argues that although Eric Quiroga has done a lot to popularize Catatumbo lightning, it should still be recognized that thunderstorms activity in the area ceases quite regularly during the dry period of January and February. The Marocaibo lighthouse is not going to go out.

In the north-west of Venezuela, where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo, a mysterious and very beautiful natural phenomenon constantly occurs. This is a must see!

The storm cloud over Catatumbo produces about a million lightning strikes per year, each with a power of about 400,000 watts. Continuously replacing each other, the sky is cut by huge electrical discharges up to ten or more kilometers long. This phenomenon is one of the world's largest producers of ozone. The most interesting thing is that with such intensity of lightning, thunderclaps are practically inaudible.

Lightning is visible not only during storms, which last 150 days a year here, but also in common days, 10 hours daily. Because of this consistency and constant position, the storm was nicknamed the Lighthouse of Maracaibo, as it helped ships navigate for many centuries.

Scientists believe that the main reason for the appearance of such an unusual phenomenon is methane, which is rich in the atmosphere of these wetlands. The Catatumbo River, which flows into Lake Maracaibo, passes through very large swamps, washing away organic materials that, when decomposed, release huge clouds of ionized methane. Then they rise to great heights, where they spread strong winds coming from the Andes. Methane, weakening the insulating properties of air in the cloud, causes frequent lightning.

The first historical mention of Catatumbo lightning dates back to 1595, when Sir Francis Drake was about to take the city of Maracaibo by storm. He intended to attack under cover of darkness, but the soldiers guarding the city saw him when powerful lightning illuminated everything around. They are also described in Lope de Vega's epic poem "La Dragontea", which dates back to 1597. Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt described Catatumbo's lightning as " electrical explosions" The Italian geographer Agustin Codazzi wrote about the phenomenon as “lightning that occurs on one of the Zulia rivers.” Zulia is the name of the state of Venezuela where Lake Maracaibo is located. The coat of arms of the state of Zulia, in honor of the Catatumbo phenomenon, depicts lightning.

Interestingly, none of the current UNESCO World Heritage Sites are currently meteorological phenomenon, however the Venezuelan government is trying to make the Catatumbo lightning first natural phenomenon included in this list.

In most places, the occurrence of thunder and lightning is a rare occurrence, but in Venezuela it is a completely different story. There are more days with lightning and storms here than without them. They practically never stop here, which is why this phenomenon is known as the Venezuelan incessant storm Catatumbo or otherwise Catatumbo lightning.

Catatumbo lightning: an eternal storm in Venezuela

Catatumbo lightning produces more than 1 million volts of electricity annually, and the storm never changes its position. People living in this area observe it constantly in the same manifestation

Intensity Catatumbo lightning It's simply amazing. The charges have a force of over 400,000 amperes each, and can be seen at a distance of 400 kilometers.

Lightning is visible not only on days of storms, which last here 150 days a year, but also on ordinary days, for 10 hours every day. Because of this consistency and constant position, the storm was nicknamed the Lighthouse of Maracaibo, as it helped ships navigate for many centuries.
This phenomenon is one of the world's largest producers of ozone. Usually lightning is accompanied by strong thunder, but not in Catatumbo's situation. Thunder is virtually inaudible here, as lightning mostly travels from cloud to cloud and rarely reaches the ground in an ongoing storm.

Catatumbo lightning: causes of the phenomenon

Most important question- Why is this happening? The reason is that the river flowing into Lake Maracaibo Catatumbo passes through very large swamps, washing away organic materials that, when decomposed, release huge clouds of ionized methane. They then rise to great heights, where they encounter strong winds coming from the Andes. This is considered the main cause of lightning.

Research led by Andrew Zawrostki of the University of Los Angeles has led to the suggestion that lightning is caused by uranium in the swamps. The storm recently ended with no lightning lighting up the sky from January to April 2010. There was a drought in the region; the river water did not reach the swamps. Fortunately, after the end of the drought, the amazing spectacle resumed

Lightning of Catatumbo: defenders of Maracaibo

While the storm was extremely useful for sailors in navigation, for some it also played a role negative role. In 1595 Sir Francis Drake intended to take the city of Maracaibo by storm. He intended to attack under cover of darkness, but the soldiers guarding the city saw him when a powerful lightning illuminated everything around him.

The storm is so popular in Venezuela that it is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of the state of Zulia, where Lake Maracaibo is located. The storm is also mentioned in the national anthem. Only other tourist sites in the country can compete with it in popularity.

While none of the current UNESCO World Heritage sites are currently a meteorological phenomenon, the Venezuelan government is trying to make Catatumbo lightning the first natural phenomenon included in the list.

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Above the wetlands in the southwestern part of Lake Maracaibo, which Venezuela, you can watch an unforgettable spectacle - a powerful and almost continuous thunderstorm - up to 20 thousand lightning flashes per night. These are the famous ones Catatumbo lightning- the most continuous thunderstorm on the planet. It is not known for certain when this phenomenon arose, but the fact that it became part of the legends of indigenous peoples is a fact.

The Catatumbo lightning was well described by the famous naturalist Alexander von Humboldt and the Italian geographer Agustin Codassi, who described it as a continuous flash flowing from the vicinity of the Zulia River.

In XX - beginning of XXI century, other scientists studied the mechanism of Catatumbo lightning. Melchor Bravo Centeno in 1911 suggested that Catatumbo lightning occurs due to a specific of this region wind conditions and terrain features.

Venezuelan scientist of Russian origin Andrei Zavrotsky (organized three expeditions in 1966-1970) identified three epicenters of Catatumbo lightning: in the swamp of the Juan Manuel de Aguas National Park, in Claras Aguas Negras and in a place west of the lake. At that time, many believed that lightning was caused by the evaporation of oil, but Zavrotsky refuted this version, because in two of the three places he designated as epicenters, there was no oil.

The expeditions of Nelson Falcon and other scientists led to another hypothesis - a pyroelectric mechanism. She suggests that winds over the plains of Maracaibo collect methane, which fuels lightning bolts. However, there are many areas in the world where the concentration of methane in the air is much higher, and similar phenomenon is not observed in them.

September 27, 2005 Catatumbo Lightning was declared an object natural heritage State of Zulia. They were also included in preliminary List UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In January 2010 it happened unusual event- Catatumbo's lightning disappeared. Darkness hangs over Lake Maracaibo. But detailed studies showed that the discharge process continued, it was just that the lightning was inaccessible to observation with the naked eye. Most likely, the reason for the stop was the unusual drought in Venezuela.

Catatumbo lightning resumed its activity three months later, in April 2010. Before this, this happened only in 1906 and only for a period of three weeks. This happened after the tsunami caused catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8.

Lightning is observed in the area between 8°30" and 09°45" N latitude. and 71°-73° W, in the state of Zulia (Venezuela). Unlike ordinary thunderstorms, Catatumbo lightning always occurs in the same place and can be observed 140-160 nights a year for 10 hours.

The thunderstorm begins about an hour after sunset. It is extremely intense (up to 20 thousand flashes in one night), and the charges have a force of over 400 thousand amperes each.

The thunderstorm occurs in giant thunderclouds in the foothills of the mountain. The plain of Maracaibo at night is often free of clouds. Boats overlook the lake from which passengers can enjoy the beautiful natural phenomenon.

Thanks to the clear sky, lightning is visible from afar in the Caribbean Sea - even from a distance of 500 km. This is how the second name of this phenomenon arose - the Maracaibo Lighthouse. It is unlikely that a person will be able to build a lighthouse brighter than this.

In addition, these lightning bolts are often orange and red. Some researchers, as well as journalists and tour operators, believe that these features are due to the unique chemistry of the Catatumbo area. In fact, these are ordinary lightning, just clear sky above Lake Maracaibo allows you to see very far - a thunderstorm occurs 50-100 km from the lake.

Thunder at such a distance is heard rarely and distantly. The rumble of thunder does not travel this distance, getting lost halfway. The indicated distance and particles of dust and vapor in the air are responsible for the unusual color of the atmospheric phenomenon.

Due to the fact that it is so great distance only electrical discharges are visible between various parts thundercloud, a misconception arose that Catatumbo lightning, unlike ordinary lightning, did not strike the ground. This, of course, is not true.

Scientific research into Catatumbo lightning continues to this day, and new explanations are emerging. But, most likely, everything was explained back in 1911. The key to this unique landmark likely lies in the interaction of the unique local topography, wind and heat.

High mountains surround the Maracaibo plain on three sides. A specific wind (low air currents) blows from the only direction free from the mountain range - from the northeast. The hot tropical sun heats the lake and marshes during the day - these hot vapors, in turn, humidify the air.

To the southwest of the plain the wind meets high mountains. Electrically charged masses of moist and hot air are forced to rise. The vapor condensates form thunderclouds and an electrical discharge occurs.

By scientific assessments, Maracaibo lightning produces about 10% of the globe's tropospheric ozone.

The disappearance of Catatumbo lightning in 2010 raised alarm: is the planet's climate really changing in such a dramatic way? According to environmentalists, the reason for this alarm signal became human activity in the region - deforestation and agricultural development.