His name is Lightning of the Catatumbo or Lighthouse of Maracaibo, considered the only natural lighthouse of the planet. Not in vain, the story tells, that many navigators used it to guide themselves due to its imposing luminosity able to light 100 million bulbs with 15 minutes of activity.
The natural spectacle will receive this Tuesday at 5 pm in the Rafael Urdaneta Park, the World Record by the International Guinness Organization as the first phenomenon in its style that produces 1 million 176 thousand lightning bolts per year, which equates to 250 lightning flashes per km2 per year, more than 92 lightning strikes per km to the region of Kifuka, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Africa which held the first place.
The Zulia between the night flashes
The "eternal radiance in the heights" known as the Catatumbo, thanks to indigenous wisdom is a natural event caused by successive electric shocks, generated in turn by the formation of water vapor when the rainy season is plentiful. The researchers point out that it is the product of the friction between the hot air of the zones existing between the Falcón and Zulia states and the cold current of the Merideña mountain range, which would produce the necessary electrical energy that gives origin to the constant spark in the form of flash of lightning.
Another explanation that would probably give rise to the event, is the amount of flammable gases that are released from the oil sources in the Lake basin. Its appreciation is of ancient date since it is believed that at the time of colonization and conquest the ethnic groups of the area paid tribute to it since they considered it a manifestation of the deities.
And it is that this important zone of the Zulia state has observed with great curiosity the fact. Many researchers, such as Agustín Codazzi, Francisco Depons, Anto Goering and Jesús Gómez Virla, have focused their studies on the phenomenal lightning that occurs in the area of the Congo Mirador, in the National Park "Ciénagas de Juan Manuel de Aguas Claras and Aguas Negras" , southwest of Lake Maracaibo.
A region that shines by itself
The Maracaibo Lighthouse, which is observed from multiple points as a single electrical storm and is produced about 160 nights a year, has focused the plans of the National Executive through the Ministry of People's Power for Tourism which plans to convert the area of the Congo Viewpoint in Area of Tourist Interest.
In this regard, the Minister of People's Power for Tourism, Andrés Izarra, on the occasion of a visit to the area said: "Governor Arias Cárdenas and myself will raise the proposal to decree El Congo Mirador Tourist Interest Area before the President of the Republic and will depend on him. It has all the characteristics to be considered a unique phenomenon in the world. The Decree will help the coordination and political coordination necessary to develop all its potential for the development of tourism in the area. "
In this context, the recognition that will be held on Tuesday will boost the plans foreseen by the Bolivarian Government towards such an important area where this great phenomenon is produced, considered as the only natural event in the world that repairs the ozone layer, an element that the atmosphere of the Direct incidence of the sun's ultraviolet rays.
This ray, cataloged as the "first natural beacon of the planet", will be recognized in the framework of the zulianity day, in an act presided by the Minister of Popular Power for Tourism Andrés Izarra, and Johanna Hessling on behalf of Ralph Hannah, representative of the Guinness record.
Probably the Lightning of the Catatumbo today will shake the western sky with greater intensity. Its luminosity will be a reflection of its own celebration. The indigenous tradition was not wrong, since that eternal glow of the heights was positioned as the first event on the planet. Today the eyes of the world settle on Venezuela, this brilliant territory that has not only the most exuberant nature of the blue planet, but also a natural lighthouse that will continue to illuminate by generation the imposing land of Zulia.