The Tibesti Mountains (Arabic: جبال تيبستي, romanised: Jibāl Tibistī) are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of 3,415 meters (11,204 ft) and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five volcanoes topped by large depressions: Emi Koussi, Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools and deposits of natron and sulfur. Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands. Tibesti, which means "place where the mountain people live", is the domain of the Toubou people. The Toubou live mainly along the wadis, on rare oases where palm trees and limited grains grow. They harness the water that collects in gueltas, the supply of which is highly variable from year-to-year and decade-to-decade. The plateaus are used to graze livestock in the winter and harvest grain in the summer. Temperatures are high, although the altitude ensures that the range is cooler than the surrounding desert. The Toubou, who were settled in the range by the 5th century BC, adapted to these conditions and turned the range into a large natural fortress. They arrived in several waves, taking refuge in times of conflict and dispersing in times of prosperity, although not without intense internal hostility at times. The Toubou came into contact with the Carthaginians, Berbers, Tuaregs, Ottomans and the Arabs, as well as the French colonists who first entered the range in 1914 and took control of the area in 1929. The independent spirit of the Toubou and the geopolitics of the region has complicated the exploration of the range as well as the ascent of its peaks. Tensions continued after Chad and Libya gained independence in the mid-20th century, with hostage-taking and armed struggles occurring amid disputes over the allocation of natural resources. The geopolitical situation and the lack of infrastructure has hampered the development of tourism. The Saharomontane flora and fauna, which include the rhim gazelle and Barbary sheep, have adapted to the mountains, yet the climate has not always been as harsh. Greater biodiversity existed in the past, as evidenced by scenes portrayed in rock and parietal art found throughout the range, which date back several millennia, even before the arrival of the Toubou. The isolation of the Tibesti has sparked the cultural imagination in both art and literature.
Toponymy The Tibesti Mountains are named for the Toubou people, also written Tibu or Tubu, that inhabit the area. In the Kanuri language, tu means "rocks" or "mountain" and bu means "a person" or "dweller," and thus Toubou roughly translates to "people of the mountains" and Tibesti to the "place where the mountain people live". Most of the mountain names are derived from Arabic as well as the Tedaga and Dazaga languages. The term ehi precedes the names of peaks and rocky hills, emi precedes those of larger mountains, and tarso precedes high plateaus and gently-sloping mountainsides. For example, the Ehi Mousgou is a 2,849-meter (9,347 ft) stratovolcano near Tarso Voon. The name Toussidé means "that which killed the Tou," as in the Toubou, reflecting the danger of the still active volcano. The name of Bardaï, the principal town in the range, means "cold" in Chadian Arabic. In the Tedaga language, the town is known as Goumodi, which means "red pass," signifying the color of the mountains at dusk.
Geography
Location
The mountains lie on the border between Chad and Libya, straddling the Chadian region of Tibesti and the Libyan districts of Murzuq and Kufra, around 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) north of N'djamena and 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) south-southeast of Tripoli. The range is adjacent to Niger and located approximately halfway between the Gulf of Sidra and Lake Chad, just south of the Tropic of Cancer. The East African Rift is 1,900 km (1,200 mi) to the east and the Cameroon line lies 1,800 km (1,100 mi) to the southwest. The range is 480 km (300 mi) in length, 350 km (220 mi) in width, and spans 100,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi). It draws a large triangle with sides of 400 km (250 mi) and vertices facing south, northwest and northeast in the heart of the Sahara, making it the largest mountain range of the desert.
Topography The highest peak in the Tibesti Mountains, as well as the highest point in Chad and the Sahara Desert, is the 3,415-meter (11,204 ft) Emi Koussi, located at the southern end of the range. Other prominent peaks include Pic Toussidé at 3,296 m (10,814 ft) and the 3,012-meter (9,882 ft) Timi on its western side, the 2,972-meter (9,751 ft) Tarso Yega, the 2,925-meter (9,596 ft) Tarso Tieroko, the 2,849-meter (9,347 ft) Ehi Mousgou, the 2,845-meter (9,334 ft) Tarso Voon, the 2,820-meter (9,250 ft) Ehi Sunni, and the 2,774-meter (9,101 ft) Ehi Yéy near the center of the range. The 3,325-meter (10,909 ft) high Tarso Ahon rises north of Emi Koussi. The 3,376-meter (11,076 ft) Mouskorbé is a peak notable for its height in the northeastern part of the mountain range. The 2,266-meter (7,434 ft) Bikku Bitti, the highest point in Libya, is nearby, on the other side of the border. The average elevation of the Tibesti Mountains is about 2,000 m (6,600 ft); sixty percent of its area exceeds 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in elevation.
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