The Calanshio Sand Sea (Sarīr Kalanshiyū ar Ramlī al Kabīr) is a
sand desert region located in the
Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...
, in
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...
region's
Kufra District
Kufra, Kufrah or Kofra ( '), also spelled ''Cufra'' in Italian, is the largest district of Libya and the second largest such district in Africa. It is slightly smaller than the country of Turkmenistan. Its capital is Al Jawf, one of the oases in ...
, eastern
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. It has a surface of approximately 62,000 km².
BoksburgHistorical.com: ''African Relics'' (Calanshio Sand Sea and "Lady Be Good")
The erg
The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7joules (100Nano-, nJ). It is not an SI unit, instead originating from the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). Its name is derived from (), a Greek language, Greek word meaning 'work' or ' ...
, an area of actively shifting dunes, extends from Jaghbub
Jaghbub () () 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 the administrati ...
and Jalo in the north to Kufra
Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
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, flat ...
s up to 110m in height: these lie in a roughly north-south direction and were created by the wind
Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
.
The Calanshio Sand Sea is the site of the missing World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 desi ...
'' Lady Be Good''. The wreck was discovered north of Kufra
Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
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 pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
s refuse to enter.
See also
*Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...
**Ribiana Sand Sea
The Rabyanah Sand Sea, Rabyanah, is a sand desert region spanning approximately 65,000 km2 in southeastern Libya.
Geography
The area of the Rabyanah Sand Sea is in the western part of the Libyan Desert in the Kufra District of the Cyrenai ...
**Idehan Murzuq
The Murzuq Desert, Idehan Murzuq, or Idhan Murzuq (also Murzaq, Murzuk, Marzuq and Murzak), is an erg in southwestern Libya with a surface of approximately 58,000 km2. It is named after the town of Murzuk in the Fezzan region. Like the Idehan Ub ...
**Idehan Ubari
The Ubari Desert, Idehan Ubari, Idehan Awbari (''Idehan'' means ''fine sand'' in Tamasheq) or Ubari Erg is an erg in the hyper-arid Fezzan region of southwestern Libya with a surface area of approximately 58,000 km2. The area of the Ubari dese ...
*Calansho Desert
Calansho Desert (Sarīr Kalanshiyū, Calansho Serir) is a desert in eastern Libya in Al Wahat District. It is part of the Sahara and has a hot desert climate (BWh). It is primarily rocky in the north and center, but forms part of the "Great Sand ...
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