The Calanshio Sand Sea (Sarīr Kalanshiyū ar Ramlī al Kabīr) is a sand desert region located in the Libyan Desert, of the Kufra District in Cyrenaica, eastern Libya. It has a surface of approximately 62,000 km².BoksburgHistorical.com: ''African Relics'' (Calanshio Sand Sea and "Lady Be Good")
The erg extends from

Jaghbub Jaghbub ( ar, الجغبوب) is a remote desert village in the Al Jaghbub Oasis in the eastern Libyan Desert. It is actually closer to the Egyptian town of Siwa than to any Libyan town of note. The oasis is located in Butnan District and was th ...

and Jalo in the north to Kufra in the south, a distance of 500km. The erg lies parallel to the Egyptian Sand Sea and is contiguous with it at their northern ends. They contain

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s up to 110m in height: these lie in a roughly north-south direction and were created by the wind. The Calanshio Sand Sea is the site of the missing World War II

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

'' Lady Be Good''. The wreck was discovered north of Kufra 15 years after it was reported missing in 1943. The crew bailed out believing they were over the sea, when their plane ran out of fuel, and they became lost. When they landed in the Libyan Desert they could feel a northwesterly breeze. Thinking they were near the Mediterranean, they headed into the wind hoping it would lead them to safety. However, they were more than inland from the Mediterranean, and slowly died from dehydration after covering with minimal water in a place so dry even the desert

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

s refuse to enter.

References

External links

"Body and wallets lie among 200-foot dunes" ("Lady Be Good in the Calanshio Sand Sea)
Dunes of Libya Deserts of Libya Sahara Kufra District Cyrenaica Landforms of Libya Ergs of Africa {{Libya-geo-stub

See also

References

External links