Which Antarctic ice-free area includes Taylor, Wright, and Victoria valleys?

The Antarctic ice-free area that includes Taylor, Wright, and Victoria valleys is the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This chain of valleys lies in Victoria Land, west of McMurdo Sound, and forms the largest relatively ice-free region in Antarctica.

The valleys are not completely free of ice: glaciers occupy parts of their upper reaches, and frozen lakes sit on their floors. However, the surrounding terrain is exposed because powerful katabatic winds descend from the Antarctic ice sheet, pushing snow and moisture away. Extremely low precipitation and intense cold make the region one of Earth’s closest natural analogues to the surface of Mars.

Taylor, Wright, and Victoria are the three principal valleys, although the wider dry-valley system also includes places such as Miers, Garwood, and Beacon valleys. Their lakes and streams are scientifically important because they contain unusual microbial ecosystems and preserve evidence of ancient Antarctic environments.

The name can be confused with smaller Antarctic ice-free areas such as the Larsemann, Bunger, and Vestfold hills. Those regions are also exposed coastal landscapes, but they do not contain this particular valley system.