Editing Libyan Desert

{{Short description|North-eastern part of the Sahara Desert}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
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{{About|the geographical area|Libyan desserts|Libyan cuisine}}
[[File:Libyandesertcscott.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Libyan Desert landscape east of the Gilf Kebir.]]
[[File:LibyanDesert-SaharaOverland.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Map of the Libya Desert]]

The '''Libyan Desert''' (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern [[Sahara Desert]], from eastern Libya to the [[Western Desert (Egypt)|Western Desert]] of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates today's [[Sahara]], and parts of the Libyan Desert include the Sahara's most arid and least populated regions; this is chiefly what sets the Libyan Desert apart from the greater Sahara. The consequent absence of grazing, and near absence of waterholes or wells needed to sustain camel caravans, prevented [[Trans-Saharan trade]] between [[Kharga]] (the Darb al Arbein) close to the Nile, and [[Murzuk]] in the Libyan [[Fezzan]]. This obscurity saw the region overlooked by early European explorers, and it was not until the early 20th century and the advent of the motor car before the Libyan Desert started to be fully explored.

==Nomenclature==
The term ''Libyan Desert'' began to appear widely on European maps in the last decades of the 19th century, typically identified as straddling the borders of present-day Egypt and Libya. This name derived from a territory known as [[Ancient Libya]]. (It was not until 1934 that former [[Ottoman Tripolitania]] became known as [[Libya]].) In his book ''[[Libyan Sands]]'', [[Ralph Bagnold]] went as far as to suggest that the Libyan Desert was a separate geographical entity from the Sahara, cut off by the mountains and plateaus of the [[Ennedi]] and [[Tibesti]] in northern Chad, and the [[Akakus]] and [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] along the Algerian border in the west. Since that time the meaning has come to revert to the definition given above.

==Geography==
The Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately {{convert|1300000|km2|abbr=in}}, and extends approximately {{convert|1100|km|abbr=in}} from east to west, and 1,000&nbsp;km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle slanting to the south-east. Like most of the Sahara, this desert is primarily [[sand]] and [[hamada]] or stony plain.

Sand plains, [[dune]]s, ridges, and some [[Depression (geology)|depressions]] (basins) typify the [[endorheic]] region, with no rivers draining into or out of the desert. The [[Gilf Kebir]] plateau reaches an altitude of just over {{convert|1000|m|abbr=in}}, and along with the nearby massif of [[Jebel Uweinat]] is an exception to the uninterrupted territory of [[Basement (geology)|basement rocks]] covered by layers of horizontally bedded sediments, forming a massive sand plain, low plateaus, and dunes.<ref name=temehu>[https://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/sahara.htm The Libyan Sahara] at temehu.com</ref>

The desert features a striking diversity of landscapes including mountains, oases, and sand seas.
[[File:Libya 4983 Tadrart Acacus Luca Galuzzi 2007.jpg|thumb|Acacus landscape]]
To the south lie the main mountain ranges, from the [[Jebel Uweinat]] ({{convert|1980|m|abbr=in|disp=or}}), on the Libya-Egypt-Sudan border, the [[Tibesti]] to the south, on the border with Chad, and the [[Tadrart Acacus|Acacus]] to the southwest.
The main oases are [[Jaghbub]] and [[Jalo oasis|Jalo]] in east, in Cyrenaica, [[Kufra]] in the southeast, and [[Murzuk]] in the south, in Fezzan. The sand seas lie in a ring around the border of Libya. To the east lies the [[Calanshio Sand Sea]], the western lobe of the [[Great Sand Sea]] straddling the Libya-Egypt border, and stretches {{convert|800|km|abbr=in}} from Jaghbub and Jalo in the north to Kufra in the south. To the south-east lies the [[Rebiana Sand Sea]], near the border with Sudan. To the south west is the [[Idehan Murzuq]], bordering Chad, and to west lies the [[Idehan Ubari]], bordering Algeria. The sand seas contain dunes up to {{convert|512|m|abbr=in}} in height, and cover approximately one quarter of the total desert region.

Other features are the [[Aswad al Haruj]] (the "Black Desert"), a large circular region of black volcanic shield in the centre of the country, and the {{ill|Hamada al Hamra|de|Hammada al-Hamra}} (the "Red Desert") a rocky plateau to the west, on the Tunisian border, coloured by iron oxide deposits. To the southeast, between Kufra and the Libya-Egypt-Sudan border, lies the [[Jebel Arkenu]], with the associated [[Arkenu structures]], thought to be caused by meteorite strikes.<ref name=temehu/> North of the Gilf Kebir plateau, among the shallow peripheral dunes of the southern [[Great Sand Sea]], is a field of [[Libyan desert glass]]. This is thought to be associated with a meteorite impact, marked by the [[Kebira crater]], on the Libya-Egypt border. A specimen of the desert glass was used in a piece of [[Tutankhamun]]'s ancient jewellery.

The Libyan Desert is barely populated apart from the modern settlements at [[Oasis|oases]] of the lower [[Cyrenaica]] region in southeastern Libya. The indigenous population are [[Bisharin tribe]], [[Mahas]], and [[Berber people|Berber]]. Where the desert extends into Egypt and no longer in Libya, it is generally known as the "[[Western Desert (Egypt)|Western Desert]]". The term "Western Desert" contrasts with the [[Eastern Desert]] to the east of the [[Nile River]], which lies between the Nile and the [[Red Sea]].

==Climate==
The Libyan desert is said to be one of the least hospitable regions on Earth. Its climate is surprisingly variable, being hot in summer, with average daytime temperatures of {{convert|50|C|F}} and above, though this drops rapidly at night. In winter, days are cool, with temperatures averaging {{convert|27|C|F}}, but at night this can drop below freezing, with temperatures of {{convert|-9|C|F}} recorded. At these times the formation of [[hoar frost]] is not uncommon, and they are known as "White Nights". 

In the north, along the Mediterranean shore, cool onshore winds blow inland, while further south, hot, dry winds, known as ''[[Ghibli (wind)|Ghibli]]'', blow from the interior, creating blinding sand-storms. Periodic [[Drought|droughts]] are common in the desert, often lasting several years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Libya - Climate {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Libya/Climate |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==History==

===Historical desert===
{{further information|Berdoa|Marmarica|Leo Africanus|Toubou people}}
[[File:Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster) p 120.jpg|thumb|300px|In this map of Africa from 
[[Sebastian Münster]]'s ''[[Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster)|Cosmographia]]'' (1545), the Libyan desert (marked ''Libyae desertum'' and ''Libya Interior'') is shown in the center of the continent, west of [[Nubia|Nubiae regnum]], south of [[Regnum Tunis]] and east of [[Regnum Senegae]].]]
Historically, "Libya" referred to an ill-defined area to the west of [[Ancient Egypt]], whose boundary traditionally was the lake of [[Mareotis]], outside [[Alexandria]]. The ancient Greeks, such as [[Herodotus]], regarded the whole of the North African littoral, to [[Cape Spartel]] in [[Morocco]], as "Libya". Later, the Romans organized the region the provinces of [[Libya Inferior]] and [[Libya Superior]], which covered western Egypt and Cyrenaica. Thus the "Libyan Desert" was the desert to the south of [[Ancient Libya]]. With the organization of the [[Italian Libya|Italian colony of Libya]] in the 20th century the term "Libyan Desert" for this region became a misnomer, and the area of desert within Egypt became known as the "[[Western Desert (Egypt)|Western Desert]]" (i.e. west of the Nile, in contradistinction to the Eastern Desert, east of the Nile).{{sfn|Pitt|1980|p=13}}

===World War I===
{{further information|Senussi Campaign}}
Following the conquest of the territory by Italy during the [[Italo-Turkish War]] of 1911–12, the desert became the scene of a two-decade struggle between the Italians and the [[Senussi]] starting from 1915,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Banks |first=Iain |date=2007-11-01 |title=Ghosts in the Desert: the Archaeological Investigation of a Sub-Saharan Battlefield |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/157407807X257340 |journal=Journal of Conflict Archaeology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=6 |doi=10.1163/157407807X257340 |s2cid=161840012 |issn=1574-0773|url-access=subscription }}</ref> who were centred on the Jebel Akhdar in Cyrenaica and on the Kufra oasis. It ended in 1931 with the conquest of Kufra by the Italians.

===Modern exploration===
During the 1930s the Libyan desert was the scene of exploration and mapping by the Italian Army and Air Force. Others, such as [[Ralph Bagnold]] and [[László Almásy]] also travelled in south-eastern Libya and southern Egypt, searching for the lost oasis of [[Zerzura]]. Bagnold also travelled into northern Chad, to the [[Mourdi Depression]], recording his findings in his book ''[[Libyan Sands|Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World]]'', which was published in 1935.

===World War II===
{{Further information|Western Desert Campaign}}
During the [[Second World War]] the north-eastern desert between [[El Agheila]] and the Egyptian border was the scene of heavy fighting between the [[Axis powers]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]], a period known as the [[Western Desert Campaign]]. The deep desert saw operations by the Italian [[Auto-Saharan Companies]], in combat with the Allied [[Long Range Desert Group]] (LRDG) and the [[Free French]] ''[[Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais du Tchad]]'' (RTST). Other actions included the [[Siege of Giarabub]] (now Jaghbub), the [[Battle of Kufra (1941)|battle of Kufra]] and the [[raid on Murzuk]], all in 1941.{{sfn|Pitt|1980|pp=235-240}}

The [[Calanshio Sand Sea]] is the site of the missing [[World War II]] aircraft ''[[Lady Be Good (aircraft)|Lady Be Good]]''. The wreck was discovered {{convert|200|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Kufra]] 15 years after it was reported missing in 1943.

==See also==
* [[Algerian Desert]]
* [[Nubian Desert]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Pitt|first=Barrie|title=The Crucible of War: Western Desert 1941|year=1980|publisher=Jonathan Cape|isbn=0-224-01771-3}}
*{{cite book|last1=Marq de Villers|last2=Hirtle|first2=Sheila|title=Sahara: The Life of the Great Desert|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2003|isbn=0-00-714820-8|url={{GBurl|id=ZSQIAQAAMAAJ}}|access-date=18 February 2023}}
*Goudie, Andrew (2002). ''Great Warm Deserts of the World'',  OUP. {{ISBN|0-199-24515-0}}.
*Bagnold, Ralph (2010). ''Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World'',  Eland. {{ISBN|1-906-01133-8}}.
*Monod, Theodore (1994). ''Désert libique'',  Arthaud. {{ISBN|2-7003-1023-3}}.
*Ahmed Hassanein Bey, (2006). ''The Lost Oases'',  AUCP. {{ISBN|1-59048-146-1}}.
*{{cite book|author=László Almásy|year=1934|title=Unknown Sahara|url=https://fjexpeditions.com/resources/bibl/Almasy/AlmasySample.pdf|access-date=18 February 2023}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Libyan Desert}}
* [http://www.fjexpeditions.com The Libyan Desert] at fjexpeditions.com.
* [http://www.african-volunteer.net/libyan_desert.html Libyan Desert] at African volunteer.net. {{access-date|6 November 2016}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111025092125/http://saharasafaris.org/hassaneinbey/ngs1924article.htm The complete text and photos of the discoveries of Ahmed Pasha Hassanein in the Libyan Desert], ''National Geographic Magazine'', September&nbsp;1924.
* [https://sahara-overland.com/2015/05/21/g-is-for-gilf-kebir Gilf Kebir, Uweinat and the Great Sand Sea]. 

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{{Deserts}}
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[[Category:Deserts of Egypt]]
[[Category:Deserts of Libya]]
[[Category:Deserts of Sudan]]
[[Category:Cyrenaica]]
[[Category:Sahara]]