Libya Doesn’t Have Any Rivers, So They Dug One Underground

Piping water from deep below the desert

(Public Domain)

Libya is a large country made up almost entirely of desert. Outside of the heavily populated coastline, the country stretches into a sandy and rocky plain nearly devoid of water. Libya is large, encompassing over 700,000 square miles of territory, but it has no rivers, nor does it have any natural lakes. The deserts hide a few potent oases, but that is it. In fact, Libya is the largest country in the world not to feature any natural rivers. Most other countries devoid of rivers are tiny or islands, or both.

Considering that rivers are one of the primary ingredients for human civilization, it is surprising that Libya has none of its own. There are 7.3 million Libyans, and they all live with the stark reality that there are no flowing rivers anywhere in their country. What a strange reality.

But how can that be possible? How do millions of people live without fresh water? How does Libya exist without a river when nearby nations like Egypt stake their entire history and identity on one?

The Great Man-Made River