Libya+Kendall+Sydney

= The Five Themes of Geography African Wiki Project: Libya =

** Location: **

 * ** North Africa **
 * ** Northern and Eastern Hemispheres **
 * ** Borders Eygpt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, and Tunisia + Mediterranean Sea **
 * **  27 °N Latitude and 18 °E Longitude **
 * ** Capital- Tripoli [[image:africacountryproject/Libya map.png width="281" height="244" align="right"]] **

** Place- Physical Characteristics and Geographical Features: **

 * ** Area- 679,362 sq. m. **
 * ** Coastline‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍- ‍‍‍‍‍1,100‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ miles **
 * ** ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Highest Elevation- Bikku Bitti (Bette Peak), 7,500 feet above sea level **
 * ** Lowest Elevation- Sabkhat Ghuzayyil, 1,154 feet below sea level **
 * ** Highest Annual Rainfall- 16 in. per year **
 * ** Greatest Distance North to South- 930 miles **
 * ** Greatest Distance East to West- 1,050 miles **
 * ** Highest Average Temperature- 88 **** °F at Sabha in July **
 * ** Lowest Average Temperature- 47°F in Tripoli in January **
 * ** Physical Geography- Land forms: Libyan Desert and the Gulf of Sidra **
 * ** Water Sources- No permanent rivers, just wadis (dry riverbeds) **
 * ** Summers are usually hot and humid and winters are cooler and rainier‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ **
 * ** Daytime ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Temperature‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍- Summer: 100° ** **F (38** ** ° **** C) **
 * ** Daytime Temperature- Winter: 60°F or 70° **** F (16 **** °C ** ** or 21° **** C) **
 * ** In the spring, the desert builds up wind and carries dust and sand all **** the way to the Mediterranean Sea. This goes on for about 4 days **

** Place- Human Characteristics: **

 * ** Some of Libya's laws are based on Qur'an. Libya is more liberal than **** some Islamic states. Example: Girls must receive education and women may hold **** a jobs and serve in the army **
 * ** Almost 90% of the population live in cities near the coast **
 * ** Almost 82% of the population can read and write **
 * ** Almost 97% of the population are Muslims and 2% are Christians **
 * ** Arabic is the official language. Libyans can also speak English (most common), **** Italian, or French **
 * ** Islam is the official religion **

** [[image:africacountryproject/ancient-libya-615.jpg width="210" height="141" align="left"]] History- **

 * During the seventh century BC, Phoenicians set up trading colonies. Three hundred years **** later, Greeks colonized the eastern coast. After that, in 146 BC, Romans defeated **** the Phoenicians and took control. Then, Germanic Vandal tribes, in AD 429, invaded the **** Romans. After the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, in AD 533, invaded them. The Arbs, **** in AD 640, invaded the Byzantine Empire. **** Libya gradually became Arabizedas, thousands of Arabs settled there and absorbed **** or displayed the Imazighen. Muslim dynasties ruled until the 1500s, when the control **** of Libya passed between Spain, Malta, Barbary sea pirates, and finally the Ottoman Empire, **** which ruled ruled from the mid-1500s to the early 1900s. **** Oil was discovered in 1959. Libya went from being a poor country to a rich exporter of oil. **** Many Libyans wanted access to the new wealth. The money from oil sales was used to build **** roads, hospitals, and schools. In addition, the agricultural sector grew and gave Libyans **** more access to food. **

** Customs and Courtesies: Gestures- **

 * **Libyans tend to gesture frequently during conversation, using hand movements** **for emph****asis**
 * ** Some Libyans see excessive hand movements as a sign of lower social status **
 * ** Libyans only usually use their right hand to eat **

** Visiting **

 * ** Libyans see visiting as an important way to show respect and maintain relationships **
 * ** When whole families may visit each other, men and women must spend‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ most of their time **** in separate rooms‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ **
 * ** Upon entering a home, guests are offered tea or coffee and food. Though guests may **** initially refuse, it is polite to accept at least a small portion **
 * ** When a guest stands to leave, the host will say it is too early to leave. Hosts usually accompany guests to the gate of the house and may offer them a ride **

** ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Eating- **

 * ** Breakfasts are light, and the main meal is lunch **
 * ** Most Libyans sit on cushions around a low table or a tablecloth spread out on the floor **
 * ** Young people see fast food as a rare treat **

** Lifestyle: Family- **

 * ** The most important unit in a Libyan's life is their family **
 * ** Children are expected to obey and respect their parents and elders **
 * ** Young people usually live at home until they marry. A young man may move away to **** work or study but, it is socially unacceptable for a young, unmarried women to live alone **
 * ** Libyan's tend to value family and community more than individuality **

** Dating and Marriage- [[image:africacountryproject/Libya flag.jpg width="367" height="217" align="right" caption="Libya's National Flag"]] **

 * ** Libyans meet through relatives or friends, at college, or at work, but they do not usually **** date in the Western sense of the word **
 * ** Traditional weddings are elaborate, lasting up to six days. Modern weddings last only **** one to three days **
 * ** The families are assigned to decorate the wedding. Some families use henna dye to decorate the ** ** hands and feet of the bride and other females **

** Life Cycle- **

 * ** When a baby is born, the father kisses his/her and whispers the call to prayer in his/her ears. This ensures **** that the first words the baby will hear are "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) **
 * ** When the mother comes home with the baby she is greeted by family members and they sing‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ **** and clap **
 * ** The women make a distinctive sound, known as zagharid, which serves as an invitation for neighbors **
 * ** Seven days after the baby is born, they have another celebration **

** Society: Government- **

 * ** Oil transformed Libya into one of Africa's wealthiest nations **
 * ** Crude oil and refined petroleum products account for more than a third of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) **
 * ** Libya also exports fruits, vegetables, grains, and cattle **
 * ** There are a few challenges that Libya's economy faced. For example, Qaddafi wanted employees to own their **** businesses, but the system crumbled because of mismanagement and corruption **
 * ** Libya couldn't trade directly with Europe or the United States, so shortages in many goods occured, **** inflation increased, and technology and infrastructure grew out of date **
 * ** Although some of Libyan's laws are based on Qur'an, Libya is more liberal than some Islamic states **

** Spotlight Animal- Fennec Fox: **

 * **Gets food and water by eating other animals**
 * ** Lives in deserts (One of those deserts is the Sahara, which is partially located is southern Libya) **
 * ** Likes fruits found in oases **
 * ** Type- Mammal **
 * ** Diet- Omnivore **
 * ** Size- Head + body = 9.5 in. to 16 in. (24 cm. to 41 cm.), Tail- 7 in. to 12.2 in. (18 cm. to 31 cm.) **
 * ** Weight- 2.2 pounds to 3.3 pounds (1 kg. to 1.5 kg.) **
 * ** Smallest of the world's foxes **
 * ** Their ears radiate body heat and help keep them cool **
 * ** Their hair protects them from cold nights and hot days and their hairy feet protect them from the cold snow to the extremely hot sand **
 * ** They developed the ability to go for long periods of time without water because they live in the desert **

** Fun Facts! **

 * 1) ** Libya is the 4th largest country in Africa and the 17th largest country in the world **
 * 2) ** Per Capita: $7,500 per year **
 * 3) ** Libya is larger than Alaska and Minnesota combined **
 * 4) ** Life Expectation: Highest in Africa- Male: 74 and Female: 78 **
 * 5) ** Almost 90% of Libya's population lives in cities near the coast **
 * 6) ** If a stranger (or someone in general) wanted a high quality Libyan meal, Libyans must go to great lengths to meet their requests **
 * 7) ** Libyans value wealth and education, but disapprove of showiness **
 * 8) ** 95% of Libya is desert and 70% of Libyans depend on water which is piped in from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System under the southern desert **

** Link: **
[] [] [] [|http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/arabs/libya.html#Trans] []

** Human-Environment: **

 * **‍‍‍How Libyans adapt to the environment and change their environment- Since it's difficult to find a reliable water source because there are no permanent rivers (that flow year round)** **in Libya, a** ** huge engineering project called the Great Man-Made River was created to channel **** water from underground aquifers in the South to the North to use for drinking, **** irrigation, and industry!‍‍‍ **

** Current Environmental Problems- **

 * A major environmental concern is the depletion of underground water as a result of overuse in agricultural developments, causing salinity and sea-water penetration into the coastal aquifers. The Great Man-Made River Project, currently under development to transport water from large aquifers under the Sahara Desert to coastal cities, is the world's most extensive water supply project. Another significant environmental problem in Libya is water pollution. The combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens the nation's coast and the Mediterranean Sea generally. Libya has 0.8 cu km of renewable water resources with 87% used in farming activity and 4% for industrial purposes. Only about 68% of the people living in rural areas have pure drinking water. The nation's cities produce about 0.6 million tons of solid waste per year. The desertification of existing fertile areas is being combated by the planting of trees as windbreaks. As of 2001, 11 of Libya's mammal species and 2 of its bird species were endangered. About 41 of its plant species were also endangered. Endangered species in Libya include the Mediterranean monk seal, the leopard, and the slender-horned gazelle. The Bubal hartebeest and Sahara oryx are extinct. **

=== **The Great Man-Made River and How it Impacted Libya's Agricultural Activities and Environment-** ===
 * Libya is a dry country with very limited water resources. As the population of Libya increases, so does its demand for water. The search for oil in the 1950s and 60s led to the discovery of vast amount of water in aquifers underneath Libya's southern deserts. In 1984, the Libyan government started the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in the world that was scheduled to complete within twenty years. The project, popularly known as the Great Man Made River Project (GMMRP), when fully completed can supply a total of 6,500,000m of freshwater per day to most northern Libya cities bordering the Mediterranean Sea. 80% of this water is allocated for agricultural activities while the remaining is for municipal and industrial purposes. The impact of the availability of this water on the agriculture activities is tremendous and so is the projected consequences on the environment. In light of this, this study, through a questionaire survey, tries to identify such impact on the agriculture town of Abu Sheiba. Findings from the questionery survey indicate that while the impact of the GMMRP project on agriculture activities are very significant so are the concern of the people on its environmental impacts (Zidan, Adel Mohamed, 2007). **

[[image:africacountryproject/lybia-oil-exports-4.png width="287" height="269" align="left"]]** Movement: **
** Railways: Note- Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork ** ** Highways: Total: 83,200 km; Paved: 47,590 km; Unpaved: 35,610 km. (1996 est.) ** ** Waterways: None (Not including The Great Man-Made River) ** ** Pipelines: Crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km. (Includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km.); natural gas 1,947 km. ** ** Ports and harbors: Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, and Zuwarah ** ** Merchant marine: Total: 27 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 401,303 GRT/656,632 DWT, Ships by type: Cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquified gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll-on/roll-off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (1999 est.) ** ** Airports: 142 (1999 est.) ** ** Airports - with paved runways: 59 ** ** Airports - with unpaved runways: 83 **

** Information/Idea Movement **

 * ** Radio **
 * ** Television **
 * ** Telephones **
 * ** Internet **
 * ** Newspaper **

** Libya's Most Exported Products- **

 * ** Crude oil **
 * ** Refined petroleum products **
 * ** Natural gas **
 * ** Chemicals **

** Regions: **

 * Exported Products- **