He was aiming for the nearby Lake Maracaibo, home to a colony of Spanish settlers he planned to overthrow.

他的目標是前往鄰近的馬拉開波湖，那裡住著他計畫要推翻的西班牙殖民者。

But as Drake moved towards the mouth of the lake under cover of darkness, his plot was suddenly and magnificently foiled.

但正當德雷克披著夜色朝向湖嘴前進時，他的計畫卻突然奇蹟似地被破壞。

Huge flashes of lightning illuminated the landscape, exposing the fleet as if it were daytime, which warned the Spanish about his approach.

巨大的閃電照亮了大地，讓船隊好似在白晝中行進般毫無遮蔽， 也向西班牙人警告了他的進攻。

Lake Maracaibo is the stormiest place on the planet.

馬拉開波湖是地表上最多暴風雨的地區。

The massive body of water at over 13,000 square kilometers is a place of almost perpetual storming.

它超過 13000 平方公里的巨大水庫幾乎永遠籠罩在風暴之下。

Thunderstorms rage above it for up to 200 days of the year, each earsplitting event lasting for several hours.

每年有將近 200 天的時間中都籠罩在雷擊的暴風雨，而每次震耳欲聾的聲響往往都會持續好幾個小時。

Like everywhere else on Earth, lightning at Lake Maracaibo is the result of opposing electrical charges that steadily build up inside storm clouds.

與地球上其他地方相同，在馬拉開波湖上所形成的閃電是由於負電逐漸累積在烏雲裡。

Once there's a large enough difference between charges either within the cloud or between the clouds and the Earth below, it forms a spark that becomes a lightning bolt.

一旦在烏雲彼此之間，或是烏雲與下方地表的電位差累積到足夠的程度時， 就會形成一道火花，並變成所謂的閃電。

Lightning strikes the earth about 350 million times per year, averaging out to eleven strikes a second.

每年地球約遭受 350 萬次雷擊，大約是平均每秒有 11 次閃電發生。

We know that thanks to satellites up in space and sensors on the ground.

多虧了太空中的衛星和地表的探測器我們才能得知這些資訊。

We can also measure the Earth's lightning density, which is the frequency with which lightning flashes in a square kilometer.

我們也能測量地球的閃電密度，也就是在每一平方公里的範圍內閃電發生的頻率。

Knowing where lightning strikes and how often reveals the most lightning-rich places on Earth.

靠著知道哪些地方有閃電發生，以及它們多常發生，我們便能知道地球上閃電最密集的地方是何處。

In the polar regions, there may only be one strike per several square kilometers each year.

在極圈地區內，一年中好幾平方公里的範圍內可能才只有一次的閃電。

Meanwhile, lightning density at the equator averages out to tens of flashes per square kilometer on account of the sun providing more heat to drive storms.

與此同時，在赤道區平均的閃電密度高達每平方公里 10 次以上。這是由於太陽提供更多的熱能驅使暴風雨生成導致。

Yet nowhere can quite compare with Lake Maracaibo, where lightning strikes an average 250 times per square kilometer, giving it the highest lightning density of any place on Earth.

然而，沒有一個地方能比得上馬拉開波湖。在此處每平方公里平均有 250 次的閃電生成， 也造就它成為地球上閃電密度最高的地方。

A number of factors converge to create the lake's seemingly everlasting storms.

有幾個因素聚合在一起造就了湖上似乎永無止盡的閃電。

Firstly, Lake Maracaibo lies just ten degrees north of the Equator, so there's a wealth of solar energy available to fuel the storms.

第一，馬拉開波湖位於赤道以北僅 10 緯度的地區，所以有很大量的太陽能可以助長風暴生成。

Thunderstorms also require a supply of water vapor to feed on, and having the warm waters of the Caribbean so close by provides an endless supply.

暴風雷雨也需要足夠的水氣才能形成，而鄰近加勒比海的溫暖海水便提供了源源不絕的水氣。

Finally, the lake's southern and western edges are bordered by two massive mountain ranges, and as cool winds surge down these slopes, they force up warm air, destabilizing the atmosphere and causing storm clouds to form.

最後，湖的西側和南側邊緣處倚靠著兩片廣大的山區， 而當冷空氣從山上沉降時，會迫使溫暖空氣上升， 使大氣趨向不穩定而致使雷雨雲的生成。

Together, these ingredients combine to give rise to the most awe-inspiring thunderstorms on the planet, a true sight to behold.

加總起來，這些因素的結合導致了地球上最令人歎為觀止的雷雨風暴， 成為了令人屏息以對的美景。

Centuries ago, Sir Francis Drake may have cursed the lake's intense illumination, but today, sailors actually embrace this phenomenon.

幾百年前，法蘭西斯．德雷克爵士會許對湖上劇烈的光罩感到憤恨。但如今，在此處航行的水手其實很享受這等景觀。

They call it the Maracaibo Beacon, and use it as a natural lighthouse to illuminate their path across the seas.

他們稱之為馬拉開波指路燈，且用這些閃電的光亮當成自然的燈塔，照亮了他們越海的路線。