Catatumbo River

Catatumbo River

The Catatumbo River ( _es. Río Catatumbo) is a river rising in northern Colombia, flowing into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

Catatumbo lightning

The "Relámpago del Catatumbo" (Catatumbo lightning) is a phenomenon that occurs over the marshlands at the Maracaibo mouth of the river, where lightning storms occur for about 10 hours a night, 140 to 160 to nights a year, for a total of about 1.2 million lightning discharges per year. The light from this storm activity can be seen up to 400 km away and has been used for ship navigation; it is also known as the "Maracaibo Beacon" for this reason. [cite web|title=Fire in the Sky|url=http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/uk/home/weather/weather_news/news_archive/archive/2007/november/ch/f540146dcc/article/fire_in_the_sky.html|accessdate=2007-12-14
quote=The flashes are visible up to 40 kilometres away and have been used as a natural lighthouse for centuries; which is why this semi-permanent storm is also known as the "Faro de Maracaibo", or "Maracaibo Beacon".
]

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  • Catatumbo River — River, northern South America. Rising in northern Colombia, it flows northeast across the Venezuelan border and the oil rich Maracaibo lowland to empty into Lake Maracaibo after a course of 210 mi (338 km). * * * ▪ river, South America Spanish… …   Universalium

  • Catatumbo lightning — at night The Catatumbo Lightning (Spanish Relámpago del Catatumbo)[1] is an atmospheric phenomenon in Venezuela. It occurs strictly in an area located over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo. The fr …   Wikipedia

  • river — river1 riverless, adj. riverlike, adj. /riv euhr/, n. 1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 2. a similar stream of something other than water: a… …   Universalium

  • Zulia River — is a river in Venezuela and Colombia. It is a tributary of the Catatumbo River …   Wikipedia

  • Hydrography of Cúcuta and North Santander — The North Santander Department of Colombia, and its capital, Cúcuta, rely on several rivers. The most important of these is the Pamplonita river. None of the rivers in this area present significant issues of pollution. The entity in charge of… …   Wikipedia

  • Norte de Santander Department — Department of North Santander Departamento de Norte de Santander   Department   …   Wikipedia

  • Colombia — Colombian, adj., n. /keuh lum bee euh/; Sp. /kaw lawm byah/, n. a republic in NW South America. 37,418,290; 439,828 sq. mi. (1,139,155 sq. km). Cap.: Bogotá. * * * Colombia Introduction Colombia Background: Colombia was one of the three countries …   Universalium

  • Lightning — This article is about the atmospheric electrical phenomenon. For other uses, see Lightning (disambiguation). See also: Lightning strike Lightning striking Atlanta, United States Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge (spar …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Maracaibo — From outer space (STS 51 I). North is at the bottom left of the image (August 1985) …   Wikipedia

  • Maracaibo, Lake — Inlet of the Caribbean Sea, northwestern Venezuela. The largest natural lake in South America, it occupies an area of 5,130 sq mi (13,280 sq km), extending southward for 130 mi (210 km) from the Gulf of Venezuela and reaching a width of 75 mi… …   Universalium

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