Libya Maps:

Although Libyan law stipulates that Sahara travellers must be accompanied by a local desert expert, one still needs to use specialist maps and GPS devices, as none of these local experts knows all (or even a fraction) of the locations of   prehistoric rock art sites in the Sahara. In fact, even the best map in the market only features a rough guide to the locations of a tiny selection of the hundreds of thousands of cave drawings and rock engravings scattered across the desert; and therefore complete maps of the Sahara are yet to be produced.  

Our Libya map project was therefore established to collect maps, resources, links and information about navigation in the Sahara and GPS locations of  its rock art, and make them available free of charge to our visitors. There are a number of GPS websites currently attempting to build a global database of GPS coordinates, based on public contributions. Hopefully, we will build a small list of the best resources availble in the Internet, some of which offer free GPS maps for personal use (see below for details).

Our current collection so far includes a number of maps originally produced by the US Army Map Service and used here courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries at Austin; which although are not as detailed as, say, EWP's Jabel Acacus Map, they still nonetheless show the main features of the landscape, tracks and (of particular importance) the old local names, some of which have now disappeared from memory, as well as they cover a large area of Libya.  

Our interactive maps were based on Google map, to which we have added some layers to show the main archaeological and tourist sites in Libya, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia articles, and coordinates calculator, which provides coordinates of any location in Libya. However, we will be adding to our map collection as we find more information and maps available from the public domain. We have also linked to an excellent interactive Gazetteer database by the American National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (see details below).

If you know of any resources, links, or have your own GPS coordinates, we would greatly appreciate an email from you at: map(at)temehu(dot)com .

 

What is a topographic map?

Topographic maps show the shape and the main features of the land. The topography of any given area is shown by contours or brown lines representing different elevations:

• thick brown lines (Index Contours) define the actual feature and give its height.
• thin brown lines (Interval Contour) give the variation in elevation: very close lines mean steep slopes, lines with large gaps indicate gradual slopes.

 

 

 

Using Map & Compass:

This guide provides detailed instructions for how to use a map and a compass to find your way around and determine the direction from one point on the map to another.

 

What is scale?

It is the ratio representing the relation between a distance on a map and its corresponding distance on the land. For instances, a scale of 1:100,000 means that 1 unit on the map is equal to 100,000 identical units on the land. Use the link to Scale Calculator (see below) to find the actual value of any scale unit.

 

 

 

Map Scale Calculator:

Scale Calculator

Using the tool available at the above link, you can calculate the actual value of any scale unit by typing only the representative fraction of your map: for example: if the map scale is 1:100,000, enter 100000 in the box provided.

To make things easier we have used the tool with various representative fractions to produce the following values of units:

 

1000
5,000
10,000
15,000
25,000
50,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
175,000
200,000
500,000
1,000,000
1250,000
1,500,000
1,750,000
2,000,000
2,250,000
2,500,000
2,750,000
3,000,000

= 0.015  miles per inch
= 0.078  miles per inch
= 0.157  miles per inch
= 0.236  miles per inch
= 0.394  miles per inch
= 0.789  miles per inch
= 1.578  miles per inch
= 1.972  miles per inch
= 2.367  miles per inch
= 2.761  miles per inch
= 3.156  miles per inch
= 7.891  miles per inch
= 15.78  miles per inch
= 19.72  miles per inch
= 23.67  miles per inch
= 27.61  miles per inch
= 31.56  miles per inch
= 35.51  miles per inch
= 39.45  miles per inch
= 43.40  miles per inch
= 47.34  miles per inch

 

Scale Values & Location of Prime Meridians

Mathematical data for bibliographic descriptions of cartographic materials and spatial data

Recommended Commercial Maps of Libya:

 

 

Jabel Acacus - Tourist Map & Guide (1:100,000)
Publisher: EWP
www.ewpnet.com
UK supplier: West Col Productions, Reading, +44 01491-681284.

 

Libya Road Map (1:1,750,000)
Publisher: Gizi Map
www.gizimap.hu

 

Sahara & Environs (1:2,200,000)
Publisher: International Travel Maps.
www.itmb.com

 

Africa North & West (1:4,000,000)
Map Number: 953
Publisher: Michelin
www.michelintravel.com

 

 

NGA: Geonames Search - OGC Viewer:

The American National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Gazetteer Database :

The term geospatial intelligence implies collecting information via mapping, charting and geodesy, and then evaluating the data to describe the actual physical features and their geographically-related activities on the ground. A Gazetteer is a database or a list of geographic place names and their longitudes and latitudes. The above link leads to an interactive database on which you can click the desired location to display its coordinates and find its local name(s). The geonames features will be displayed only when the scale is approximately 1: 2,000,000 or larger, so if names do not appear, just keep zooming in until you see them.

 

 

The World of The Landsat Satellites & Their View of The Earth:

The Landsat's mission is to collect, archive, and distribute data of all the Earth's land surface.

The first Landsat was launched on July 23, 1972, to initiate a new era of Earth observation from space for non-military purposes. The information collected  is now the standard for Earth observations. Landsat circa 1990/2000: click on the map to zoom in/out, or 'Select Image' from the menu below the map and click on the desired region on the map to display the image in a new window.

Note: the connection or links are secured (https://) and therefore the browser may not display them if it is set to reject expired or general certificates. You can either change your browser settings, or copy the URL of the image that pops up in a new window, paste it in a new tab or window, and then remove the letter /s/ from "https:// " and then hit enter.

 

NASA's World Wind:

 

Download World Wind For Free, directly from http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/

NASA's open-source-program World Wind is similar to Google Earth - except in that it is free -   very handy indeed if you just want to publish an actual image in your website, rather than having to link to it via embeded script as you would with Google. The Landsat Global Mosaic (except for i-3 visible layer), Blue Marble, and the USGS raster maps and images are all Public Domain. (Please note that not all data provided by the add-ons is Public Domain). A lot easier to use too. The downloded program includes the required: .NET runtime, and the managed DirectX library. For user manual, please visit http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind/ .

 

 

Celestial Sahara Navigation:

 

Travels in the Sahara Desert - An Exercise in Celestial Navigation:

Although GPS devices are now essential to desert navigation, Geoffrey Kolbe, in his Travels in the Sahara Desert - An Exercise in Celestial Navigation, introduces celestial navigation as an art and as a backup system, in case of electrical failure, especially during long periods of travel across the Sahara when GPS devices are likely to run out of power.

 

Sun & Moon Rise & Set, Eclipse Data, Phases of the Moon, Day & Night, Navigational Star Chart, and more

This link provides tools and tables for finding times for sunrises and sunsets, moonrises and moonsets, eclipse data, phases of the moon, hours of day and night in different locations, navigational star chart, and many more related data and calculators.

 

GPS Resources:

 

 

Map Centre Two:

Mapcenter2 was created to share maps for Garmin GPS receivers and find maps created by GPS enthusiasts from all over the world. They are amateur map authors and have created this service to promote their work and the work of other free maps authors. Click here for their Libya maps page: (Roads, Cities, River, some POI; Free VMAP0,1 and ESRI data; build contains self install for MapSource (ID 2446)).

 

 

Convert Coordinates to GPS Points:

Convert Coordinates to GPS Points: convert and map coordinates to GPS points (I have noticed the position mapped after entering the coordinates in this tool is about 1000 yards away from the coordinate position on the original Google map).

 

 

Waypoints:

The International GPS Global Positioning System Waypoint Registry: building a world wide database of GPS coordinates.

 

 

Free GPS Maps:

Free GPS Maps, Info & links. Also a long list of free GPS software for your computer and mobile devices.

 

 

Tunisia V11

Download Tunisia vector map for Garmin and compatible devices: showing only dirt roads and paved roads (no off road tracks) in Tunisia, with waypoints:cities, villages, hotels, restaurants, fuel stops, car services and Tunisian sahara wells.

 

 

 

Convert Google Maps Data to GPX

GMapToGPX: this tools extracts data from Google Maps and converts it to GPX format suitable for loading on a GPS. It can create a GPX file based on driving directions, an address search or a local search.

The instruction are pretty simple: go to the website (elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/), drag the link to your browser’s bookmark toolbar, go to Google maps and get some search results of your choice, then click on the GMapToGPX bookmark in your toolbar to display a GPX file over the Google map. Now you are ready to copy and paste the code into a text file and save to your desktop with the extension “.gpx” or “.txt”, and then load the GPX file into your GPS or mapping software.

 

 

Tracks4Africa:

Tracks4Africa (T4A for short) is a non-profit organisation run by ‘Environmental users’ with the aim of mapping Africa accurately, reliably and environmentally. Their main focus is the GPS mapping of all the eco-destinations in rural and remote Africa. Their tracks are now in Google Earth: see Layers >More.

 

 

The Lonelyplanet's guide to Libya lists a number of GPS locations of prehistoric paintings and drawings in Acacus, including:

Adadh (N 25 31 18.77 E 10 35 58.70)
Acacus (N 25 20 00.49 E 10 31 19.52)
Acacus: Three Women Dancing: (N 24 42 03.51 E10 37 08.83)
Acacus: Wadi Anshal: Women: (N 24 43 27.49 E 10 31 52.66)
Acacus: Wadi Anshal: Elephant & Giraffe carvings: (N 24 43 34.84 E 10 33 11.44)
Tashwinat: Wan Targhit: Hunting Scene (N 24 51 21.52 E 10 32 25.09)
Ancient rock-carved map of Wadi Tashwinat: (N 24 51 07.58 E 10 31 09.16)
Wedding Scene: (N 24 50 25.89 E 10 30 09.35)
Tin Khilqa Rock Arch: (N 24 51 24.45 E 10 34 41.12)
Awiss: Elephants: (N 25 19 37.16 E 10 32 25.03)
Awiss: Human Figures: (N 25 19 32.64 E 10 32 16.22)
Awiss: Wadi Udhohen: Chariots: (N 25 17 12.88 E 10 34 53.12)
Awiss: Wadi Tiheden: Fighting scene: (N 25 16 01.25 E 10 35 45.13)

 

 

Interactive Libya Map:

Our Google interactive map can be used to navigate your way around Libya and familiarise yourself with the main features of Libya's rich and bizarre landscape, including our markers of the main archaeological and tourist sites in Libya, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia articles (accuracy questionable), and coordinates calculator, which is useful for finding the exact coordinates of any spot in Libya.