9.1500°N, 71.6500°W.
Atmospheric phenomenon over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it meets Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Lightning occurs an average of 260 nights per year, with peak activity producing 28 strikes per minute over multi-hour storms — making the location the highest lightning-density spot on Earth (250 strikes/km²/year, NASA TRMM data 2014). The phenomenon results from the convergence of moist Caribbean trade winds with cold air descending from the Andes, forced upward over the lake's warm surface to produce nightly mesoscale convective storms. Documented as a navigational landmark since the 16th century — Spanish chronicler Lope de Vega referenced it in 1597. The lightning ceased between January and April 2010 during an El Niño drought, returning when the rains returned.
Sailors used the lightning as a lighthouse for 400 years — and the only thing that turned it off was a drought.