Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa with 1.760.000 sq km of mostly desert terrain. it is bordered on the west by Algeria and Tunisia and on the east by Egypt. on the south Libya borders with Sudan, Chad and Niger. only the narrow coastal strip receives sufficient rainfall and suitable for agriculture making it the area where 90 % of the population resides and where Tripoli, the capital, is situated. south of Tripoli the Jefera plane is located which provides most of the agricultural harvest for the country. 

the northeastern part of the country, the Jebel Akhdar area (the green mountains) is the most verdant and beautiful region in Libya.

 the interior of the country is largely uninhabited desert region with wide spread oasis communities the largest being Kufra, in the south east, and sebha in the center also capital of the Fezzan region.

 in the extreme south of the country lie Tibesti and Tassili mountains of the central Sahara which rise to heights of 3000 and 1000 meters respectively.

the desert area is also known for its sand seas, formations of vast area of shifting sand dunes some several hundred meters in height,  which include the famous Calanscio sand sea in the east near the Egyptian border and the Murzuk and Ubari sand seas in the south west.

 there are no permanent rivers in Libya, only Wadis ( watercourses) which hold the infrequent excess from the rainfall. in the Fezzan area years may go by without rain and agriculture is sustained thanks to subsurface aqueducts. the existence of vast fossil aqueducts in the south and in the southeast has prompted the building of huge pipelines to bring water to the coastal areas for agricultural and industrial use. this latter project is known as the great man made river project being the largest engineering scheme currently carried out and most expensive in the world estimated usd 27 billion.

 Libya has large high quality oil reserves most of which are in the desert areas south of the gulf of Sirt. the gulf area is dotted with oil terminals, mostly around Ras Lanuf and Brega contributing immensely to the nation's economy.