LAKE MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA
Registering the world’s highest frequency of lightning, the Catatumbo lightning is a stunning weather phenomenon. Between 140 to 160 nights each year, a mass of storm clouds gathers over the Catatumbo River, where it empties into Lake Maracaibo, and lightning streaks across the area, sometimes up to 280 times in an hour. Believed to be a result of the winds blowing across the lake and the surrounding swampy plains, the phenomenon is popularly known as the “Lighthouse of Maracaibo.”
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, TENNESSEE, US
The synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) are known for being the only bioluminescent insects in the U.S. that can coordinate their flash patterns. During their mating season, which lasts two weeks every year, the forests of the Smoky Mountains are alight with hundreds of insects flashing blinking lights in a pattern. The mating season varies each year, as it depends on temperature and soil moisture. Usually, the peak mating season falls between late May and late June.
ETERNAL FLAME FALLS, NEW YORK, US
Located in Shale Creek Preserve in the Chestnut Ridge Park, the aptly named Eternal Flame Falls is marked by its flickering golden flames behind a curtain of water. The flame is due to the escape of natural gas within a small cave behind the falls. Although the flame stays on all-year long, it can be extinguished and re-lit.
