(6 Jul 2015) With 250 lightning bolts per square kilometre (0.38 square miles) each year streaking across the sky above the Maracaibo lake in western Venezuela, the area has earned its place in the Guinness World Records as being the place on the planet with the highest concentration of lightning strikes.
The phenomenon, known as the Catatumbo Lightning, is a result of warm air trapped in the Maracaibo basin clashing with the cold air that comes down from the high mountains that surround the area, sparking huge thunderstorms which create an average of 28 lightning strikes a minute.
Tour Guide Alan Highton has been leading tours and bringing scientists and documentary makers to the site, where the Catatumbo river flows into the lake, for 20 years.
Few tourists visit the Catatumbo Lightning but Highton remains convinced that this phenomenon could catch the attention of many around the world.
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