Venezuela facts

In Venezuela. Catatumbo lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon in Venezuela. It occurs only over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo. The phenomenon is characterized by almost continuous lightning and occurs during 260 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. It has been known for centuries as the Lighthouse of Maracaibo, since it is visible for miles around Lake Maracaibo

Electric eel lives in muddy floodplains of Orinoco basin. It is well adapted to this low-oxygen environment: it can breathe atmospheric air using a vascularized respiratory organ in its oral cavity. In fact, electric eels must rise to the surface every 10 minutes and inhale, otherwise they die not having enough oxygen from the gill.

In South America. Electric eels inhabit muddy waters of the Amazon and Orinoco basins floodplains and swamps. Fortunately, these are remote and uninhabited areas, as electric eels can easily kill a human. Although it doesn't eat such large animals (it has no teeth and can swallow only small mammals), a series of electric shocks is enough to stun and drown a horse.

979 m (3,212 ft). Angel Falls is over twice as tall as the Empire State Building. It is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, though a trip to the falls is a complicated affair, as the falls are located in an isolated jungle.

Caracas. Despite being just 10 miles (15km) from the Caribbean Sea, Caracas has no sea access. It is separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-metre-high (7,200 ft) mountain range, Cerro El Avila.

Carib people. Many historians believe that cannibalism was rare or even nonexistent among Carib people. In 1503 Queen Isabella ruled that only people who were better off under slavery (especially cannibals) could legally be taken as slaves. This provided Spaniards an incentive for identifying various groups as cannibals to enslave them.

The President of Venezuela. The Miraflores Palace became the official presidential residence and office in 1911. After many modifications, the current palace presents fountains encompassed by corridors and halls, such as the Peruvian Sun Hall, the Joaquín Crespo Hall, Vargas Swamp, the Ambassador Hall and Ayacucho Hall.