Murqub District

Murqub (المرقب)
District
Leptis Magna, a world heritage site
Country	Libya
Capital	Khoms
Population	432,202 (2006)
Map of Libya with Murqub district highlighted

Murqub (Arabic: المرقب‎‎ Al Murqub), sometimes spelt Al Murgub or Al Marqab or al-Morqib, is one of the districts of Libya. The main city and capital is Khoms. The widely visited UNESCO World Heritage Site of Leptis Magna is also located in the district. In the north, Murqub has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. On land, it borders Misrata to the east and south, Tripoli to the northwest and Jabal al Gharbi to the west.

Per the census of 2012, the total population in the region was 157,747 with 150,353 Libyans. The average size of the household in the country was 6.9, while the average household size of non-Libyans being 3.7. There were totally 22,713 households in the district, with 20,907 Libyan ones. The population density of the district was 1.86 persons per sq. km.

In 2007 the district was enlarged to include twenty-six Basic People's Congresses (townships) of what had been the Tarhuna wa Msalata District.

In the north, Murqub has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. On land, it borders Misrata to the east and south, Tripoli to the northwest and Jabal al Gharbi to the west. The region is part of Triplotania geographical region that runs from north to south and has set of coastal oases, plains and limestone plateaus having an elevation of 2,000 ft (610 m) to 3,000 ft (910 m). The region receives an annual rainfall of 16 in (410 mm). There are no perennial rivers in the region, but the region is abundant with groundwater aquifers. Most of the major cities of Libya are located in the coastal regions. Libya has mostly a flat undulating plain and occasional plateau, with an average elevation of around 423 m (1,388 ft). Around 91 per cent of the land is covered by desert, with only 8.8 per cent agricultural land (with only 1 % arable lands) and 0.1 per cent of forests. The major resources are petroleum, gypsum and natural gas. Along the coastal regions, the climate is Mediterranean in coastal areas, while it is desert climate in all other parts. Dust storms lasting four to eight days is pretty common during Spring. Triplotania is the northwest region, while it is Cyrenacia in the east and Fezzen in southwest.