Driving Directions Tunisia
TUNISIA is a country in North Africa that lies on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria bounds it to the west and Libya to the south. Several islands, notably Djerba and Kerkennah, lie near the shore. Northern Tunisia consists of hills, plains, and valleys. Inland, the Atlas Mountains project’s foothills into the northwestern part of the country, rising from 610-1,520 meters or 2,000-5,000 feet.
Driving Directions
To the south and southeast, the land descends to a region of salt lakes and salt pans (called chotts), some of which lie below sea level. Beyond these are the Sahara Desert’s fringes, occupying two-fifths of the country’s total land area.
Fertile, cultivatable valleys and plains occur in the north and along the coast, although fluctuations in the water supply regulate output. These regions also support various vegetation, including woodlands and grasslands inhabited by several wildlife species. Desert animals include reptiles such as horned vipers and cobras.
The northern coastal regions have a Mediterranean-type climate of hot summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. Conditions are much warmer and drier in the south, with very little rain in the desert regions. Agriculture produces wheat, barley, olives, grapes, tomatoes, dates, vegetables, and citrus fruits, and a growing fishing industry provides mainly pilchards, sardines, and tuna.
About 26 percent of the workforce is engaged in these two occupations, but overall there is a general lack of employment. Tunisia’s modern economy’s mainstays are oil from the Sahara, phosphates, natural gas, and tourism on the Mediterranean coast.
Google maps™ Tunisia
Tunisia can be divided into northern, southern, and central regions, determined in part by topography and quality of the soil and in part by the incidence of rainfall, decreasing progressively from north to south. The Mediterranean Sea influences the north’s climate, and the Sahara Desert influences the weather in the south.
The Mediterranean Sea forms Tunisia’s northern and eastern borders.
Did you know about Tunisia?
El-Jem, an ancient colosseum almost as large as in Rome, is located on a plateau south of Tunis’s capital city. It could seat an estimated thirty thousand people.
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