Al Khufrah Oasis

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Astronaut photo of the Al Khufrah Oasis. The circles seen here are agricultural fields, the shape being characteristic of center pivot irrigation.
Astronaut photo of the Al Khufrah Oasis. The circles seen here are agricultural fields, the shape being characteristic of center pivot irrigation.

The Al Khufrah Oasis in southeastern Libya (near the Egyptian border) is one of Libya's largest agricultural projects. Because only about 2 percent of Libya's land receives enough rainfall to be cultivated, this project uses fossil water from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, a large underground aquifer.

The Green circles in the desert frequently indicate tracts of agriculture supported by center-pivot irrigation. The Al Khufrah Oasis in southeastern Libya (near the Egyptian border) is one of Libya’s largest agricultural projects, and is an easy-to-recognize landmark for orbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The Libyan government also has a project called the Great Manmade River to pump and transport these groundwater reserves to the coast to support Libya’s growing population and industrial development.

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