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Geography of Libya – The Ultimate Free Guide 2021

In this article we will learn about Geography of Libya.

• Libya is officially the State of Libya is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west and Tunisia to the northwest.
• The sovereign state is made of three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
• Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, the largest in the Arab World and Arab League behind Algeria and the 16th largest country in the world.
• Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world.
• Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures

Geography of Libya

Region:

North Africa

Area:

1.76 million km²

Capital:

Tripoli

Population:

68.7 lakhs

Bordering Countries:

The country borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Tunisia and Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south, and Sudan and Egypt to the east.

Total Size:

1.76 million km²

Geographical Coordinates:

26.3351° N, 17.2283° E

World Region or Continent:

Africa

General Terrain:

Mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions.

Geographical Low Point:

The salt lake of Sabkhat Ghuzayyil – 47 metres below sea level.

Geographical High Point:

The highest point of the country is Bikku Bitti at 2,267 m as marked on the map with an upright yellow triangle.

Climate:

• Libya as many as five different climatic zones have been recognized, but the dominant climates are the hot-summer Mediterranean climate and the hot desert climate. In most of the coastal lowland, the climate is Mediterranean, with hot or very hot summers and extremely mild winters. Rainfall is scant.
• The weather is cooler in the highlands, and frosts occur at maximum elevations. In the desert interior, despite the relatively high elevation, the climate has long, extremely hot summers and high diurnal temperature ranges due to the permanence of cloudless skies and excessively dry atmosphere.
• Less than 2% of the national territory receives enough rainfall for settled agriculture, the heaviest precipitation occurring in the Jabal al Akhdar zone of Cyrenaica, where annual rainfall of 400 to 600 mm (15.7 to 23.6 in) is recorded. All other areas of the country receive less than 400 mm (15.7 in), and in the Sahara Desert 50 mm (1.97 in) or less occurs. Rainfall is often erratic, and a pronounced drought may extend over two seasons.
• The government has constructed a network of dams in wadis, dry watercourses that become torrents after heavy rains. These dams are used both as water reservoirs and for flood and erosion control.

Major cities:

• Tripoli
• Benghazi
• Misrata
• Tarhuna
• Al Khums
• Az Zāwīyah
• Zawiya
• Ajdabiya
• Sabha
• Sirte

Major Land forms:

Libya is almost entirely covered by the Libyan Desert, a flat plateau that’s part of the Sahara, the world’s largest hot desert. Libya is so dry that no permanent rivers flow through its boundaries.

Arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 98.82% (2011)

Major Rivers and Lakes:

Major Rivers:

• Great Man-Made River
• Wadi
• Wadi Wishka Dam
• Wadi Gan and Wadi Derna Dams

Major Lakes:

There are no lakes in Libya.

Natural Resources:

Petroleum, Natural gas, Gypsum.

Major Geographical Features:

Biomes & Ecosystems:

Dry Sahel : Freshwater
Gulf of Sidra: Marine
Levantine Sea: Marine

Topography:

Libya has narrow enclaves of fertile lowlands along its Mediterranean coast and a vast expanse of arid, rocky plains and sand seas to the south. Coastal lowlands are separated from one another by a predesert zone and backed by plateaus with steep, north-facing scarps.

Oceans:

Libyan Sea

Islands:

Taoulga islands

Mountain Ranges:

Jabal Arkanu
Bikku Bitti
Harouj Mountain
Haruj
Jebel Akhdar
Jebel Sherif
Waw an Namus

Districts of Libya:

See Also:

World Map

References:

• Countrystudies.us
• Fanack.com