The Place on Earth Where It Hasn't Rained for 2 Million Years
There is a valley in Antarctica where scientists estimate it hasn't rained for 2 million years.
Fact-checked · 1 verified sourceReviewed by the CurioVault curator · 8 October 2026 · Last updated 7 October 2026 · Editorial standards
There is a place on Earth where it hasn't rained for 2 million years.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are so dry and cold that scientists estimate parts have been ice-free and rain-free for 2 million years. They are the driest place on Earth - drier than the Atacama Desert. Katabatic winds blowing at 200 mph evaporate all moisture, and average humidity is 0%.
NASA considers them the closest thing to Mars on Earth, and tests Mars rovers there. The ground is permafrost patterned into polygons, with no plants, no animals, just bacteria living inside rocks. In some areas, the soil contains no detectable life at all - the only place on Earth like that.
When explorers first found them in 1903, they thought they were dead. In fact, they are a window into what Earth looked like before life spread.
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