This world never ceases to amaze me. I just learned about a natural phenomenon called the Catatumbo Lightning. It is basically a lightning storm that stays in one spot for 140 to 160 days a year right at the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

Not only does this storm stay active for half the year, it goes on for 10 hours a night and produces on average 280 lightning strikes per hour. These strikes are visible fro up to 25 miles away and are so dependable they are used by sailors of the region as a natural lighthouse. The 1 million powerful flashes of lightning a year over this relatively small area are considered by some to be the world’s largest single generator of tropospheric ozone.

Is that amazing or what? It gets stranger: This is not a new phenomenon, it has been going on for centuries! In fact, the first written mention of the Catatumbo lightning was in the poem “La Dragontea” by Lope de Vega in 1597 where the death of the English pirate Sir Francis Drake is narrated as the lightning storm gives away his armada’s approach.

So, strange enough yet? Not done yet because after appearing continually for centuries, the lightning has all of sudden stopped. It has not been seen since January 2010, apparently due to a drought, raising fears that it may have been extinguished permanently.