The Tibesti Mountains

 

Background

The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small extension into southern Libya, with Emi Koussi being the tallest at 3415 meters.

The mountains lie оn the border between Chad аnd Libya, straddling the Chadian regions оf Borkou аnd Tibesti аnd the Libyan districts оf Murzuq аnd Kufra, around 1000 km north оf N’djamena аnd 1500 km south-southeast оf Tripoli.

Its coordinates are as follows: 3.0758° S, 37.3533° E

 

Vegetation

The flora in the Tibesti is Saharomontane, mixing Mediterranean, Sahara, Sahel and Afromontane vegetation.

Saharomontane grasslands are found on the slopes, plateaus and the upper portions of the wadis at elevations between 1,800 and 2,700 m dominated by Stipagrostis obtusa and Aristida caerulescens, as well some Eragrostis papposa locally. In addition, shrubs represented by Anabasis articulata, Fagonia flamandii and Zilla spinosa dot this environment. On the sheltered upper slopes of Emi Koussi is the endemic grass Eragrostis kohorica.

The vegetation above 2,600 m consists of dwarf shrubs, which consists of the species Pentzia monodiana, Artemisia tilhoana and Ephedra tilhoana. Finally, at the highest elevation elevations of the Tibesti, tree heath (Erica arborea) grows from moist crevices formed by early lava flows, and 24 different species of moss provide substrate for the tree heath.

Minerals

Tibesti is an area rich in minerals, including tungsten, tin, and oil, In Tibesti’s northern section the Aozou Strip, an area of about 114,000 square km is believed to have large deposits of uranium. Other minerals include niobium, beryllium, lead, zinc, copper, platinum, and nickel. Gold, diamonds and emeralds have been found in small quantities.

Rock paintings

There are hundreds of rock paintings and carvings hidden in the mountains. They were created by the early humans who inhabited the mountains.

Yi Yerra hot springs

The Yi Yerra hot springs іs located оn the southern flank оf Emi Koussi, аt аbоut 850m elevation. Water emerges frоm the springs аt 37C. А dozen hot springs аre аlsо located аt the Soborom geothermal field оn the northwest side оf Tarso Voon, where water emerges аt temperatures ranging between 22 аnd 88C.

Agriculture

The oases to the west and north of the range support several villages, such as Zouar, where indigenous plant species have largely been replaced by some 56,000 date palms.

These palm groves can also grow millet and corn, the banks of the enneris grow desert gourd (Citrullus colocynthis),

Horticulture is practiced on a small scale using traditional irrigation methods.

Goats and, more rarely, sheep number 50,000 heads, and 8,000 camels and 7,000 donkeys are raised in the range. Chickens are also numerous,although the consumption of meat is rare, usually done so through salting.

Accommodation

There are no tourist accommodations near the mountains.

 

For more reading

http://www.triposo.com/poi/T__fa9aef242545