Dry Valleys in Antarctica
Dry valleys in Antarctica are areas of extensive and exceptional rock exposure. Thanks to local or regional weather patterns, even glaciers fail to invade the rocky landscapes. They are also known as Antarctic ‘oases’ and are best developed in the McMurdo area of East Antarctica. Unlike the fertile oases of hot deserts these represent some of the coldest and driest places on our planet.
Throughout Antarctica, ice-free areas like these enable geologists to collect the rock samples and fossils of ancient life which provide them with windows on the multi-million-year history of Antarctica.
