The McMurdo Dry Valleys are together with the Polar Plateau presumably the driest place on our planet. They receive less than 1 cm of annual rainfall, which almost immediately evaporates after falling. Even the Sahara seems a wet place compared to this climate. Glaciers from the Polar Plateau flow through the mountains into the Dry Valleys, as can be seen in the background of the picture. The valleys are so dry that the glaciers simply evaporate and disappear - even though ice is steadily arriving from the upper part of the glacier. The landscape in the valleys is a bizarre mixture of ice formations and wind-shaped rocks that were eroded for millions of years. The last proper rainfall in this area was probably more than two millions of years ago, even though a few drops of rain can fall once every few years.
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The McMurdo Dry Valleys are together with the Polar Plateau presumably the driest place on our planet. They receive less than 1 cm of annual rainfall, which almost immediately evaporates after falling. Even the Sahara seems a wet place compared to this climate.
Glaciers from the Polar Plateau flow through the mountains into the Dry Valleys, as can be seen in the background of the picture. The valleys are so dry that the glaciers simply evaporate and disappear - even though ice is steadily arriving from the upper part of the glacier. The landscape in the valleys is a bizarre mixture of ice formations and wind-shaped rocks that were eroded for millions of years. The last proper rainfall in this area was probably more than two millions of years ago, even though a few drops of rain can fall once every few years.