A set of parallel valleys, covering almost 2,000 square miles, lies 40 miles west of McMurdo Station. While these valleys are flanked by ice, their walls and floors are pure bedrock with barely a patch of ice inside. The area looks like the surface of a rocky, lifeless desert. In winter, temperatures here can drop to −90 degrees Fahrenheit. The region is so cold and barren, it is used to model the geology and possibilities for life on Mars. The landscape of these valleys, known as the Dry Valleys, appears as a paradox. If ice lies on the mountains above the valleys, and their interior gets
...more
