Around 98 % of Antarctica is covered with ice. The Dry Valleys region is the largest area on the continent that is not. Located among mountains by McMurdo Sound, on the part of Antarctica closest to New Zealand, the valleys receive the equivalent of only 10 cm of water, on average, each year in the form of snow. Completely devoid of terrestrial vegetation, the region is considered one of the most extreme deserts on the planet. Yet during the austral summer, water flows through this desert. Temperatures rise enough for glaciers protruding into the valleys to begin melting. The meltwater forms streams that enter lakes covered by ice that is two to three stories thick.

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