Hydrogeology of Libya

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of Libya

This page has limited information and needs to be updated. If you have more information on the hydrogeology of Libya, please get in touch!

Compilers

Dr Kirsty Upton and Brighid Ó Dochartaigh, British Geological Survey, UK

Please cite this page as: Upton & Ó Dochartaigh, 2016.

Bibliographic reference: Upton, K. & Ó Dochartaigh, B.É. 2016. Africa Groundwater Atlas: Hydrogeology of Libya. British Geological Survey. Accessed [date you accessed the information]. http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Hydrogeology_of_Libya

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The Africa Groundwater Atlas is hosted by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and includes information from third party sources. Your use of information provided by this website is at your own risk. If reproducing diagrams that include third party information, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and the third party sources. Please see the Terms of use for more information.

Geographical Setting

Libya. Map developed from USGS GTOPOPO30; GADM global administrative areas; and UN Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. For more information on the map development and datasets see the geography resource page.

General

Estimated Population in 2013*	6,201,521
Rural Population (% of total) (2013)*	21.8%
Total Surface Area*	1,759,540 sq km
Agricultural Land (% of total area) (2012)*	8.7%
Capital City	Tripoli
Region	Northern Africa
Border Countries	Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal (2013)*	4,326 Million cubic metres
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Agriculture (2013)*	82.9%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Domestic Use (2013)*	14.1%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Industry (2013)*	3.1%
Rural Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	n/a
Urban Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	n/a

* Source: World Bank

Climate

More information on average rainfall and temperature for each of the climate zones in Libya can be seen at the Libya climate page.

These maps and graphs were developed from the CRU TS 3.21 dataset produced by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK. For more information see the climate resource page.

Surface water

Major surface water features of Libya. Map developed from World Wildlife Fund HydroSHEDS; Digital Chart of the World drainage; and FAO Inland Water Bodies. For more information on the map development and datasets see the surface water resource page.

Soil

Soil Map of Libya, from the European Commission Joint Research Centre: European Soil Portal. For more information on the map see the soil resource page.

Land cover

Land Cover Map of Libya, from the European Space Agency GlobCover 2.3, 2009. For more information on the map see the land cover resource page.

Geology

The geology map on this page shows a simplified version of the geology at a national scale (see the Geology resource page for more details).

Geology of Libya at 1:5 million scale. Developed from USGS map (Persits et al. 2002). For more information on the map development and datasets see the geology resource page.

Hydrogeology

The hydrogeology map below, at 1:5 million scale, shows the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the Hydrogeology map resource page for more details).

More information on the hydrogeology of Libya is available in the report United Nations (1988) (see References section, below).

Transboundary aquifers

For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the Transboundary aquifers resources page.

References

References with more information on the geology and hydrogeology of Libya can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive.

United Nations. 1988. Groundwater in North and West Africa: Libya. United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development and Economic Commission for Africa.

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Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of Libya