Ubari is the large Saharan oasis in Libya famous for the lakes of the Ubari Sand Sea.
Ubari lies in southwestern Libya within the Fezzan region. Its best-known landscape combines towering dunes with isolated saline lakes, including Umm al-Maa and Gaberoun. These water bodies occupy depressions among the dunes and are remnants of a much wetter climatic past.
The lakes are not ordinary freshwater lakes. Their water is generally saline because evaporation is intense and drainage is limited. The surrounding dunes and palms create one of the Sahara’s most striking oasis landscapes, attracting visitors and photographers.
Ubari should not be confused with Kufra, another major Libyan oasis group in the country’s southeast, or with Ghadames near the western border. The name can refer to both the oasis town and the wider region around the dune lakes. The lakes’ persistence depends on groundwater and local hydrological conditions.