Lake Maracaibo is South America's largest lake and one of the oldest on earth, estimated at 20 to 36 million years old. Technically it is a tidal bay connected to the Caribbean Sea through a narrow strait at its northern end, but Venezuelans call it a lake and the distinction hardly matters when you are standing on its shore looking at water stretching to the horizon in every direction. The lake dominates the geography of western Venezuela and sits atop one of the richest oil deposits on the planet — the wells and derricks dotting its surface are an unmistakable part of the landscape.
The lake is famous for the Catatumbo Lightning, a natural phenomenon at the mouth of the Catatumbo River on the southwestern shore. Here, atmospheric conditions produce near-continuous lightning for up to 10 hours a night, roughly 260 nights a year. The storms are visible from across the lake and have served as a natural lighthouse for sailors for centuries. Organized boat tours to see the lightning depart from the town of Ologa and the surrounding area, usually as overnight trips.
The indigenous Añu people have lived on Lake Maracaibo for centuries in palafitos — houses built on stilts over the water. It was these stilt villages that supposedly inspired the name "Venezuela" — "Little Venice" — when Spanish explorers arrived in 1499. Some Añu communities still live this way today, particularly along the western and southern shores. The lake's waters are warm and shallow but swimming is not recommended — pollution from the oil industry and agricultural runoff has taken a serious toll, and duckweed blooms now cover large sections of the surface.