There is something about a good thunderstorm that many people really love. While the blast of a strong clap of thunder can be a little scary, the bright lightning flashing across the sky is undeniably beautiful.

For most places in the world, thunderstorms only happen a handful of times per year, and even with that, they often don’t last very long. This makes it something of a special event in the minds of many.

If you are the type of person who loves a good thunderstorm, you may want to plan a vacation to Venezuela. Specifically, the area around the Catatumbo River. This remote area has just the right heat and humidity conditions to create long-lasting thunderstorms that produce more lightning than anywhere else in the world.

People who live in this area experience thunderstorms between 120 and 140 days per year, on average. And these aren’t just quick storms that roll through, but instead often last for up to 9 hours at a time.

So, just how active is each storm? The region has the most lightning in the world at about 250 flashes per square kilometer every year, which adds up to 1.6 million bolts of lightning for the area. During a storm, you will witness up to 280 flashes per hour, which is absolutely remarkable.

Many of the storms occur higher up in the atmosphere than most people are used to, which can make the lightning visible from greater distances. In fact, this lightning has been used as a navigational beacon by sailors for generations because it is so well-known. Of course, with so much lightning, it can also be dangerous. Angel G. Munoz is a physicist and researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and talked to NASA about it, saying:

“A lot of people die each year. The lightning can be so continuous that you see everything around you.”

The sheer amount of lightning that occurs hear each year makes many people think that they should be able to somehow harness it to provide electricity for people living in the region. While the electricity from the storms is plentiful, there isn’t currently a way to capture it effectively. If a method is ever discovered, hover, it could revolutionize the power industry.

In just 10 minutes of a typical storm in this area, the lightning could provide enough energy to power all of South America.

Check out this amazing light show!

So, if you fancy yourself a storm chaser and you don’t mind a little danger, this location might be worth adding to your bucket list.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.