page_title: Catatumbo lightning
section_title: Historical references
hierarchical_section_title: Catatumbo lightning / Historical references
caption_attribution_description: Español: Escudo de Armas del Estado Zulia English: Coat of arms of Zulia state
context_page_description: Catatumbo lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon which occurs over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. It originates from a mass of storm clouds at a height of more than 1 km, and occurs during 140 to 160 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. It occurs over and around Lake Maracaibo, typically over a bog area formed where the Catatumbo River flows into the lake.
  The lightning changes its frequency throughout the year, and it is different from year to year. For example, it ceased from January to March 2010, apparently due to drought, leading to speculation that it might have been extinguished permanently.
context_section_description: Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt described the lightning in 1826.Italian geographer Agustin Codazzi described it in 1841 as "like a continuous lightning, and its position such that, located almost on the meridian of the mouth of the lake, it directs the navigators as a lighthouse."
  The phenomenon is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of the state of Zulia which also contains Lake Maracaibo, and is mentioned in the state's anthem. The phenomenon has been known for centuries as the "Lighthouse of Maracaibo", since it is visible for miles around Lake Maracaibo.
  Some authors have misinterpreted a reference to a glow in the night sky in Lope de Vega's description in his epic La Dragontea of the attack against San Juan de Puerto Rico by Sir Francis Drake as an early literary allusion to the lightning (since in another verse the poet does mention Maracaibo), but it was actually a reference to the glow produced by burning ships during the battle.
caption: Coat of arms of Zulia. The lightning is on the right top quarter.
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