Historians have found little evidence of the revolutionary icon. Data set available online from NASA's Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center (GHRC) DAAC, Huntsville, AL, U.S.A. doi:10.5067/LIS/LIS/DATA201. The distance of more than 40 leagues at which the light is distinguished has led to the belief that it could be the effect of a storm or electrical explosions that take place daily in a mountain gorge and it is even assured that the sound of thunder is heard when one approaches the lantern. He was correct on that point, but also reported that other observers had attributed the lightning to an air volcano created by deposits of asphalt. For generations locals have been captivated by the regions dramatic light show, with lightning storms raging for about 10 hours a night, about 260 nights a year. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com, Places In The World Where Lightning Strikes The Most, Meet 12 Incredible Conservation Heroes Saving Our Wildlife From Extinction, India's Leopard God, Waghoba, Aids Wildlife Conservation In The Country, India's Bishnoi Community Has Fearlessly Protected Nature For Over 500 Years, Wildfires And Habitat Loss Are Killing Jaguars In The Amazon Rainforest, In India's Sundarbans: Where People Live Face-To-Face With Wild Tigers, Africa's "Thunderbird" Is At Risk Of Extinction. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Also Read: Are There Lightning Strikes On Other Planets? Around the world, lightning is forecast only a few hours, and at best, days in advance. Physics Books for Kids | Children's Physics Books. It has replaced its predecessor, DR Congo, in witnessing the most number of lightning strikes. Catatumbo Lightning doesn't actually fire nonstop, butfor at least a few centuries, it has occurred around 150 times per year in Venezuela. [2] } Catatumbo Lightning is most active in the wetter months of September and October, and least active in the drier months of January and February. Lake Maracaibo is the largest body of water of its kind in South America. a lightning storm rages in a small part of Venezuela. So if on a particular day, lightning struck 13,720 times, the model should show that. Extreme Sports - What You Need to Know About Wingsuit Flying When winds transport this moisture towards the mountains, there is nowhere for it to go, except to ascend really fast, Muoz said. #fca_qc_quiz_63124.fca_qc_quiz div.fca_qc_answer_div:active { Catatumbo Lightning: What Is The Beacon Of Maracaibo? - Science ABC The winds are key. Lightning density information was combined using two sensors: the Optical Transient Detector on the OrbView-1 satellite, and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. From polar vortexes to hurricanes that strikeNew York City in autumn to droughts that never seem to end, no one in the worldtruly seems to know what's happening with the weather. } In the 20th century, when it became clear that storms caused the phenomenon, Venezuelans stopped calling it the Maracaibo Beacon and renamed it Catatumbo lightning. He was tasked with creating accurate maps of the region, including Lake Maracaibo. 1998. The lightning is so consistentoccurring 300 days a year at the same time and in the same area, where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaiboit has earned its own proper name, Catatumbo Lightning. Translation: Energetics of the Catatumbo Lightning. NASA Global HHydrometeorology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC DAAC), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Catatumbo lightning (Spanish: Relmpago del Catatumbo)[1] is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. (2016, May). Decades ago, it was believed uranium deposits in bedrock attracted the lightning. It seems that [] the electrical matter is concentrated in those places, in which it is observed every night a luminous phenomenon that is like lightning that from time to time ignites the air, he wrote. Scientists now say the regions unique topography and wind patterns contribute to the unique phenomenon. Even though previously the mountain village of Kifuka in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa was know to be the most electric place on Earth, with 158 lightning flashes per square kilometer each year, the Catatumbo lightning has surpassed this figure with 250 lightning flashes per square kilometer each year.
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