Tripolitania

has a dry Mediterranean to Saharan climate. It comprises from North to South: the Jaffarah Plain; the Jabal Nafusah bordered by a high scarp (Average 600 m elevation), a gently south dipping plateau; the desert including large wadis and basins in the areas of Mizdah and Bani Whalid and southwards, the monotonous Hamada al Hamra. In the West of the Hamada al Hamra, close to the borders of Algeria and Tunisia are the oases of Derj and Ghadamis.
Rainfall is in the range of 250 mm/year with a maximum in the area of Tarhunah where the Jabal gets closer to the coast. South of the scarps of the Jabal, annual rainfall quickly drops to 100 mm. The irregular rainfalls occur mainly from October to March, and winter can be very cold with occasional snow in the mountains.

The Jaffarah Plain is dominated in the north by irrigated agriculture and by pastoralism. It gets dryer south close to the Jabal Nafusah. Natural habitats are most often sandy (vegetated dunes) and rocky along the wadis and the coast. A dry Mediterranean to sub-desertic vegetation is encountered with a “green” season for the annual plants from winter to mid-April.

The coast is characterised by closely related habitats and saline environments with large sabkhas between Sabratah and Tunisia and along the Gulf of Sirt.

The Jabal Nafusah is mostly dry (steppe) and rocky, with more bushes and vegetation in the wadis, which are often cultivated. Habitats get greener and richer from west to east. Southward nice wild or cultivated wadis are found (Mizdah, Bani Whalid area) and the monotonous Hamada al Hamra which stretches towards Fazzan. Habitats in the Hamada correspond to wadis and temporary ponds (dhayas). To the West are the oases of Ghadamis and Derj with their gardens and palm groves.

   
Depicted habitats:
   


Lowlands, Jaffarah:

sandy in the area of Sidi as Sa’ih
farmlands

sabkha and beaches in Melitah

Jabal, Wadis, Hamada:
greener areas near Tarhunah
small wadis in the Jabal and Ain R’zaia
Wadi Suf Ajjin and al Mardum


See "slide shows" for more images
Jaffarah and Coast, Nafusah and Hamada