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U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 75 



Physical Description of Libya 

 General Features 



Libya is divisible into several rather broad physiographic elements. 

 These include the coastal plain adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, the 

 coastal escarpment delineating the inland margin of the coastal plain, 

 the broad zone of sand and gravel plains of the pre-Saharan region 

 south of the coastal escarpment, and the hamadas, serirs, and sand 

 seas of the Saharan interior. In many areas, isolated mountain com- 

 plexes, escarpments, and local rocky outcroppings are widespread and 

 form a large part of the desert landscape. In other areas, near the 

 coast and in the interior, large, dry watercourses (wadis) dissect the 

 otherwise featureless plains. These wadis are a typical feature of the 

 Libyan Sahara and, in many areas, provide the only visible contrast 

 in an otherwise monotonous landscape. In northern Cyrenaica, the 

 deep canyons and high tablelands of the Cyrenaican Plateau, and in 

 Tripolitania, the high valleys and rocky headlands of the Gebel 

 Nefusa form physiographic features differing markedly from the low- 

 lying surrounding terrain. 



Figure 1. — Physical features of Libya. 



