Tibesti
Range
The Tibesti, including Emi Koussi summit, seen from the International Space Station
Countries	Chad, Libya
Highest point	Emi Koussi
- elevation	3,445 m (11,302 ft)
- coordinates	18°33′6″N 19°47′36″E / 18.55167°N 19.79333°E / 18.55167; 19.79333

For the current region of Chad, see Tibesti Region.

The Tibesti Mountains are a range of inactive volcanoes located on the northern edge of the Chad Basin in the Borkou- and Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The massif is one of the most prominent features of the Central-Sahara desert and covers an area of approximately 100,000 km² (39,000 sq mi). The northern slopes extend into southern Libya. It is one of the most isolated areas on Earth and the people called the Tibesti the mountains of hunger, as they can only feed a few people.^{[citation needed]} The biggest city is Bardaï, with only 1,500 residents. The region is a settlement area of the Tubu people and in periods of drought in the lowlands the nomadic Tuareg visit this area.^{[citation needed]}

Geography[link]

The mountains are the largest and highest range in the Central Sahara, formed by a volcanic group. Most are inactive volcanoes, but the Smithsonian Institution lists four potentially active volcanos. The toponymy of the Tibesti massif is derived from the Arabic and Teda-daza languages of the Toubou people and is used throughout the region. The term ehi refers to peaks, rocky hills, emi to larger mountains or mountainous regions; ehra to calderas. The term Tarso designates a high plateau or gently-sloping mountainsides; for example the Ehi Mosgau is a 3,100 m (10,200 ft) Stratovolcano with a small summit area, near Tarso Voon. The Ehra Kohor is a caldera on the Emi Koussi summit.

The highest peak in the mountains is Emi Koussi, (3,415 m (11,204 ft)). Other summits include Kegueur Terbi (3,376 m (11,076 ft)), Tarso Taro (3,325 m (10,909 ft)), the potentially active volcano Tarso Tousside (3,265 m (10,712 ft))and Tarso Voon (3,100 m (10,200 ft)).^[1] The peak Bikku Bitti, located in northern area, is the highest mountain in Libya. While the high peaks themselves are all constituted of volcanic material, the mountains stand on broad uplifted area caused by a mantle plume. The intense activity of the volcanism began as early as the Oligocene, though the major products that mark its surface date from Lower Miocene to the Quaternary period. It shows as a key example of continental hot spot volcanism. In several areas of mountains are hot springs and solfataras, most pronounced geothermal features are in Soborom solfatara field on the north-western flank of Tarso Voon volcano.^[2]

The basement of the mountains is Precambrian Schist, overlaid with Paleozoic Sandstone, all capped by Tertiary and Pleistocene outpourings of basalt.

Climate[link]

The range has a substantially wetter climate than the arid surrounding desert. The run-off of precipitation in the mountains is more regular than the lowland desert. The rainfall during the 1950's was considerable, although still probably under 600 mm/m² per year. Recently, rainfall has been less than 60 mm/m² per year in new century(2000). Lowland wadi areas called Enneri, receive their water from the mountains down storm channels. The rainfall differs massively from year to year; for example the biggest Enneri, Bardargué, flowed at a rate of 425 m³/sec in 1954, but in the subsequent 9 years, was entirely dry for 4 years, had one short flow each year for 4 years (peaking at 5 m³/sec), and in the ninth year had three flows peaking at 4, 9 and 32 m³/sec.

The mean maximum temperature is approximately 30°C in the lowlands and falls to 20°C in the highest elevations. Mean minimum temperatures are 12°C in the lowlands, but fall to 9°C over most of the ecoregion and are as low as 0°C at the highest elevations during winter months.

Flora and fauna[link]

Due to the aridity of the Sahara, the Tibesti massif is nearly free of accumulated vegetal soil, and robust plant life is deficient in almost every area throughout the year. The Tibesti Mountains lies in the ecological region, they called Tibesti-Djebel Uweinat Montane Xeric Woodlands. In these mountains, there is only one lake, the Mare de Zoui, along with a number of oases.

Flora[link]

The Tibesti mountain vegetation varies according to elevation and slope. Large Enneri areas radiate from the southwestern slopes supporting tree species such as the Doum Palm (Hyphaene thebaica), Salvadora persica, Tamarix articulata, and Acacia albida, and other tropical herbs in the genera Abutilon, Hibiscus, and Tephrosia. The Saharamontane vegetation of the higher elevations supports the endemic Ficus teloukat, which grows on the south and southwestern slopes, Myrtus nivellei on the western slopes, and Tamarix gallica nilotica on the wetter northern slopes. Remnant tropical and Mediterranean plant species are seen throughout this ecoregion, including palms,Hibiscus sp. and Rhynchosia sp.

Fauna[link]

The ecoregion supports populations of several important Saharan large mammals including the Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas), Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus lervia) and Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Small mammals and their predators are also abundant, including Hyrax (Procavia capensis), Brown Hare (Lepus capensis) and Spiny Mouse (Acomys spp.). The reptile and amphibian fauna is poor in this area.

There are a number of vegetative and wildlife species in the Tibesti Mountains. In Chad there may be as many as 50 endangered Painted Hunting Dogs, but some regard these relict populations in the Tibesti Mountains as extirpated, partially from Darfur refugee turmoil and other Sudan generated conflict.^[3]

Cultures[link]

The mountains are known for their ancient cave paintings, mostly dating from the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC, and for the geysers and hot springs in the Soboroum solfataric field, where waters issue from the ground with temperatures between 22 and 88°C. The Yi Yerra warm springs (37°C) are located on the southern flank of Emi Koussi at an altitude of (850 m (2,790 ft)) above sea level. The local populations use the hot and warm springs for medical purposes.

The area has long been home to the Toubou people which had trading relations with Carthage from the 500s BC. The main town in the area is Bardaï, while Zouar and Aouzou are smaller settlements.

See also[link]

• Air of Niger

References[link]

• Gourgaud, A. & Vincent, P. M. (2004). "Petrology of two continental alkaline intraplate series at Emi Koussi volcano, Tibesti, Chad". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 129 (4): 261–290. DOI:10.1016/S0377-0273(03)00277-4. 
• Harry Hamilton Johnston. 1910. Britain across the seas: Africa: a history and description of the British Empire in Africa, published by National Society's Depository, 429 pages
• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• Ramsar Information about Chad[1] 172 kb PDF
• "Boundaries of Lake Chad Region" UNEP Publikation 8,41 MB PDF Format
• Jason L. Permenter & Clive Oppenheimer: Volcanoes of the Tibesti massif (Chad, northern Africa)

Line notes[link]

External links[link]

• Information on climbing, with map
• Information about the mountains, with images
• WWF report on the Tibesti region
• Photo gallery
• Travel page with photos (in German)

v t e Mountains of Libya Acacus Bikku Bitti Sherif Haruj Arkanu Jebel Akhdar Nafusa Tibesti Al Uweinat Waw an Namus

Coordinates: 20°46′59″N 18°03′00″E / 20.783°N 18.050°E / 20.783; 18.050

Robert Bauval (born 5 March 1948 in Alexandria, Egypt) is an author, lecturer, and Ancient Egypt researcher, best known for his Orion Correlation Theory.

Early life[link]

Bauval was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to parents of Belgian and Maltese origins. He attended the British Boys' School in Alexandria (now El Nasr Boys' School) and the Franciscan College in Buckinghamshire, England. He left Egypt in 1967 just before the Six-Days War during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser. He has spent most of his engineering career living and working in the Middle East and Africa as a construction engineer.

Writing career[link]

In late 1992 Bauval had been trying to obtain a translation of Hermetica by Walter Scott. He then came across a new edition printed by Solo Press with a foreword by Adrian Gilbert.^[1] Bauval contacted Gilbert after being interested in his foreword concerning a link between an Alexandrine school of Hermes Trismegistus and the pyramid builders of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. They went on to write The Orion Mystery together, which became an international bestseller.^[2] BBC Two broadcast a documentary on Bauval's theories around the time of the book's publication.^[3] He has also co-authored three books with Graham Hancock, including a very contentious book on possible artificial structures on Mars (The Mars Mystery - 1998).

Works[link]

• The Orion Mystery (with Adrian Gilbert) (1994)
• Keeper Of Genesis (with Graham Hancock) (1995)
• The Message of the Sphinx (with Graham Hancock) (May 1997)
• The Mars Mystery (with Graham Hancock) (1998)
• Secret Chamber (1999)
• Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith (with Graham Hancock) (2004)
• The Egypt Code (Oct 2006)
• Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt (with Thomas Brophy PhD) (April 2011)
• The Master Game: Unmasking the Secret Rulers of the World (Sept 2011)

Orion Correlation Theory[link]

Bauval is specifically known for the Orion Correlation Theory (OCT). This proposes a relationship between the fourth dynasty Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Plateau and the alignment of certain stars in the constellation of Orion.

One night in 1983, while working in Saudi Arabia, he took his family and a friend's family up into the sand dunes of the Arabian desert for a camping expedition. His friend pointed out Orion, and mentioned that Alnitak, the smaller more easterly of the stars making up Orion's belt was offset slightly from the others. Bauval then made a connection between the layout of the three main stars in Orion's belt and the layout of the three main pyramids in the Giza necropolis.The theory, known as the Orion Correlation Theory or OCT, was first published in Discussions in Egyptology (DE, Volume 13, 1989)

This theory has inspired some books of such other successful writers as Javier Sierra.

Controversy[link]

Some of the hypotheses put forward in his works are regarded by some mainstream archaeologists and historians as a form of pseudoscience. Among his more notable theories is the possible connection with the Giza necropolis and the epoch of 12,500 years ago. Several Egyptologists have however entertained the general idea that some astronomical correlations may have figured in or been represented by certain physical features and orientations in Ancient Egyptian monuments. In particular, the aspects of the OCT which claim there is a link between the Ancient Egyptian structures at Giza and the constellations as they looked some 12500 years ago are yet to find support from many within the field.

One such expressing an interest in these ideas was a leading authority on the Pyramids of the mid- to latter-20th century, I.E.S. Edwards. In 1983 Edwards stated that Bauval had made a "convincing case" that the Giza pyramids were a representation of Orion's belt. Also in a 1992 statement, Edwards says of Bauval "In my opinion he has made a number of interesting discoveries"; however Robert Bauval himself acknowledges that categorical statements about Edwards' position on the OCT as later developed by Bauval and Hancock in The Keeper of Genesis cannot be made as he did not comment directly on the material. Bauval further acknowledges that "he would have been unlikely to give further support to such controversial ideas linking Giza and 10,500 BC or 11,500 BC"

Appearances[link]

Bauval has appeared on BBC, Channel 4, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, CNN, ABC, NBC, RAI 2 and on several other European, Middle Eastern and Asian Channels. He has recently featured in the film 2012: Science or Superstition, a documentary describing how much of what we're hearing is science and how much is superstition.^{[4] [5]} He has also recently been a featured commentator on the History Channel show, Ancient Aliens.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Ed Krupp article: "Pyramid Marketing Schemes"
• Jaromir Malek article: "Orion and the Giza pyramids"
• The Conscious Media Network interview with Robert Bauval (video)