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Much of Libya is underlain by consolidated sedimentary rock aquifers with intergranular flow. Cyrenaica, in the northeast has consolidated fractured sedimentary units. Zones in south, central and northwest Libya have some groundwater housed in igneous rock and unconsolidated sedimentary deposits
257:
Northern
Cyrenaica is different from the rest of the country and is more closely related to the central Tunisian platforms. The zone uplifted in the Eocene and intensely deformed during the Middle Miocene. It still has some seismically active faults. Areas that had experienced volcanism in the
27:
igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rock. Most of the country is intra-craton basins, filled with thick layers of sediment. The region experienced long-running
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174:, at which point the existing basins stabilized. However, renewed subsidence continued in the east, running parallel with the development of the Libyan tilt.
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222:. The subsidence remained irregular, creating different blocks of rock. This process became more complicated, as fault troughs formed in the
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Paleozoic, such as Jebel
Oweinat, experienced renewed eruptions in the recent geologic past, along with Tibesti-Garian axis. ,
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rocks begin with the
Tadrari coarse sandstones, which formed during a period of land subsidence that continued into the
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Libya has the largest hydrocarbon reserves of any country in Africa, and these resources play a major role in the
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separates the overlying
Hassaouna sandstones from lower Precambrian rocks. These sandstones are inferred to be
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142:, near Jebel Oweinat, the Paleozoic ended with volcanism, which intruded early Paleozoic ring dikes.
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The pattern of subsidence and continental sedimentation from the
Paleozoic continued into the
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predominate along the western coast, eastern border with Egypt and in the southwest.
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103:. In some cases, purple and blue Murizidie series rocks intercalate the sandstones.
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Active subsidence continued to drive sedimentation in the
Jeffara plain during the
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47:. Libya has the largest hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, as well as deposits of
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218:, the marine transgression continued, extending to the Tibesti area by the
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due to tectonic stretching of the
African block and continued into
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is particularly recent, east of the stable
Pelagian block.
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rocks appear to be missing from Libyan stratigraphy.
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55:Stratigraphy, tectonics & geologic history
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8:
250:flexures in the rock. The depression by the
107:related sedimentation continued through the
23:formed on top of deep and poorly understood
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111:, until a period of tectonic calm in the
31:and terrestrial sedimentation during the
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210:Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)
99:rocks, formed at the beginning of the
87:Paleozoic (539-251 million years ago)
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287:, potash, salt and sulfur reserves.
146:Mesozoic (251-66 million years ago)
279:. The country also has phosphate,
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170:, the pattern continued into the
717:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
487:Democratic Republic of the Congo
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238:. The current boundaries of the
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138:Along the eastern edge of the
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367:. British Geological Survey.
338:. Springer. p. 138–139.
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336:Geological Atlas of Africa
197:and eastern Fezzan by the
181:flooded the region in the
334:Schlüter, Thomas (2008).
65:metamorphic basement rock
472:Central African Republic
271:Natural resource geology
83:, known from boreholes.
365:"Hydrogeology of Libya"
189:, reaching what is now
59:Libya is underlain by
632:São Tomé and Príncipe
492:Republic of the Congo
179:marine transgression
45:marine transgression
707:States with limited
125:Early Carboniferous
418:Geology of Africa
242:are the result of
162:. In fact, in the
132:Late Carboniferous
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734:other territories
507:Equatorial Guinea
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816:Geology of Libya
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794:(United Kingdom)
790:Tristan da Cunha
786:Ascension Island
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732:Dependencies and
425:Sovereign states
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277:economy of Libya
172:Early Cretaceous
154:, mainly in the
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305:Geology portal
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117:Early Devonian
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782:Saint Helena
753:
657:South Africa
647:Sierra Leone
571:
452:Burkina Faso
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335:
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319:Libya portal
274:
265:
262:Hydrogeology
256:
220:Early Eocene
213:
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164:Murzuk Basin
149:
129:
93:unconformity
90:
63:igneous and
58:
17:
15:
709:recognition
662:South Sudan
552:Ivory Coast
168:Kufra Basin
140:Kufra Basin
91:An angular
61:Precambrian
25:Precambrian
18:geology of
764:(Portugal)
722:Somaliland
642:Seychelles
607:Mozambique
592:Mauritania
577:Madagascar
532:The Gambia
467:Cape Verde
291:References
252:Ionian Sea
248:Quaternary
236:Quaternary
195:Cenomanian
109:Ordovician
49:evaporites
29:subsidence
597:Mauritius
285:magnetite
224:Oligocene
101:Paleozoic
77:quartzite
33:Paleozoic
810:Category
788: /
784: /
777:(France)
771: /
749: /
745: /
697:Zimbabwe
672:Tanzania
522:Ethiopia
517:Eswatini
497:Djibouti
462:Cameroon
447:Botswana
244:Pliocene
232:Pliocene
216:Cenozoic
185:and the
160:Jurassic
156:Triassic
152:Mesozoic
121:Devonian
113:Silurian
97:Cambrian
41:Cenozoic
37:Mesozoic
773:Réunion
769:Mayotte
760:Madeira
755:(Spain)
751:Melilla
682:Tunisia
652:Somalia
637:Senegal
622:Nigeria
612:Namibia
602:Morocco
567:Liberia
562:Lesotho
512:Eritrea
482:Comoros
457:Burundi
432:Algeria
228:Miocene
214:In the
193:by the
136:Permian
105:Orogeny
81:granite
792:
775:
762:
692:Zambia
687:Uganda
627:Rwanda
582:Malawi
542:Guinea
437:Angola
281:gypsum
187:Albian
183:Aptian
73:gneiss
69:schist
747:Ceuta
667:Sudan
617:Niger
572:Libya
557:Kenya
537:Ghana
527:Gabon
502:Egypt
442:Benin
205:thumb
191:Sirte
20:Libya
677:Togo
587:Mali
477:Chad
246:and
234:and
166:and
134:and
79:and
39:and
16:The
812::
344:^
283:,
230:,
201:.
177:A
127:.
115:.
75:,
71:,
51:.
410:e
403:t
396:v
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