Libya is characterised by the contrast between narrow enclaves of fertile lowlands along the Mediterranean coast and vast expanses of arid, rocky plains and sand seas to the south. The coastal lowlands are separated from one another by a pre-desert zone and backed by plateaux with steep, north-facing scarps; the country's only true mountains, the Tibesti, are situated in the southern desert. The country has several saline lakes but no perennial watercourses. Less than 5 percent of the territory is economically useful.

The capital city Tripoli is located on the Mediterranean coast. The Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert are the country's most prominent natural features. There are several highlands but no true mountain ranges except in the largely empty southern desert near the Chadian border, where the Tibesti Massif rises to over 2,200 metres. A relatively narrow coastal strip and the highland steppes immediately south of it are the most productive agricultural regions. Still farther south a pastoral zone of sparse grassland gives way to the vast Sahara Desert, a barren wasteland of rocky plateaux and sand. It supports minimal human habitation, and agriculture is possible only in a few scattered oases.

Between the productive lowland agricultural zones lies the Gulf of Sidra, where along the coast, a stretch of 500 kilometres of wasteland desert extends northward to the sea. This barren zone, known as the Sirtica, has great historical significance. To its west, the area known as Tripolitania has characteristics and a history similar to those of nearby Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. It is considered with these states to constitute a supranational region called the Maghrib. To the east, the area known historically as Cyrenaica has been closely associated with the Arab states of the Middle East. In this sense, the Sirtica marks the dividing point between the Maghrib and the Mashriq.

The dominant climate influences are provided by the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. In the coastal lowlands, where 80 percent of the population lives, the climate is Mediterranean, with warm summers and mild winters. The climate in the desert interior is characterized by very hot summers and extreme diurnal temperature ranges. Precipitation ranges from light to negligible; less than 2 percent of the country receives enough rainfall for settled agriculture.

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