| Catatumbo | |
| River | |
| Countries | Colombia, Venezuela |
|---|---|
| States | Norte de Santander Department, Zulia |
| Source | |
| - elevation | 3,850 m (12,631 ft) |
| Mouth | Maracaibo Basin |
| Length | 500 km (311 mi) |
| Basin | 22,317 km2 (8,617 sq mi) |
The Catatumbo River (Spanish: Río Catatumbo) is a river rising in northern Colombia, flowing into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. The Catatumbo River is approximately 210 miles (338 km) long. It forms a part of the international boundary between the two countries.
Together with the nearby Río Escalante, Catatumbo is a producing area for cocoa beans of the Criollo cultivar.
The "Faros del Catatumbo" or "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 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.[1]