RODENTS OF LIBYA 



The Coastal Plain 



The Libyan coastal plain varies in width from a few hundred 

 meters in some places in northern Cyrenaica to perhaps 50 or 60 

 kilometers at its widest portion in northwestern Tripolitania. This 

 plain stretches uninterruptedly across northern Tripolitania and along 

 the southern margins of the Gulf of Sirte, but in northern Cyrenaica, 

 it is markedly reduced, and in some places completely obliterated, 

 owing to the encroachment of the escarpments of the Cyrenaican 

 Plateau and Gebel Achdar. In most areas the coastal plain is slightly 

 elevated above the sea, and extensive sandy beaches occur near the 

 coastline. Occasionally, larger wadis emerging from the coastal escarp- 

 ment cause local irregularities in the surface of the coastal plain, but 

 normally it is relatively flat and rather featureless. In many areas 

 along the Gulf of Sirte, huge coastal dunes extend for great distances 

 along the seaward margins. Smaller, more localized dunes occur near 

 the coastal escarpment in the broad coastal plain of northwestern 

 Tripolitania. 



In northern Tripolitania, where the coastal plain is frequently 40 

 or 50 kilometers in width, the higher, more inland portions are gently 

 undulating and support extensive olive groves and vineyards. Near 

 Misurata and Tauorga, along the western margin of the Gulf of Sirte, 

 the coastal plain is also quite wide and is partially submerged along 

 the seaward portions, forming an extensive salt marsh known as the 

 Sebchet el Tauorga. 



The Coastal Escarpment 



A coastal escarpment varying in height from a few meters to a 

 thousand meters is usually present, separating the coastal plain from 

 the higher deserts of the interior. These escarpments reach their most 

 impressive size in northern Cyrenaica and northwestern Tripolitania 

 where they mark the northernmost limits of the Cyrenaican Plateau 

 and the Tripolitanian Gebel (Gebel Nefusa). In many areas near the 

 Gulf of Sirte, the coastal escarpments are reduced to a line of indis- 

 tinct cliffs on the inner margin of the coastal plain. In other areas 

 the escarpment is lacking entirely, and the coastal plain grades 

 almost imperceptibly into transitional desert farther inland. 



In some areas of Cyrenaica, the lower terraces of the coastal escarp- 

 ment are sometimes a hundred meters above the level of the sea 

 and form rocky headlands along their seaward margins. 



Pre-Saharan or Steppe 



A broad belt of pre-Saharan desert is typical of vast areas of Libya 

 located between the humid Mediterranean littoral and the truly 



