Tunisia, at the northernmost bulge of Africa, thrusts out toward Sicily to mark the division
between the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea. Twice the size of South Carolina, it is
bordered on the west by Algeria and by Libya on the south. Coastal plains on the east rise
to a north-south escarpment that slopes gently to the west. The Sahara Desert lies in the
southernmost part. Tunisia is more mountainous in the north, where the Atlas range
continues from Algeria.