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.