Few people who love traveling around the world will feel the desire to visit the icy expanses of Antarctica. And in vain. It is difficult to find a more mesmerizing and unearthly beauty than these wild, snowy and endless expanses, where a person’s foot so rarely sets foot.
However, not all of Antarctica is completely covered with ice. Scientists have discovered areas where there was no snow and even water for two million places, these are the so-called Dry Valleys of Antarctica or the McMurdo Valley.
As is known from geographical sources, Antarctica itself is located in the south of the Earth, and the waters of the Southern Ocean wash this impregnable continent. And it is not in vain that Antarctica is called a part of the world, since it consists not only of the mainland, but also of the islands adjacent to it. However, this does not prevent her from being the coldest continent, where the January temperature can drop to -89 degrees Celsius.
Of course, under such climatic conditions there can be no talk of the presence of man on these lands. Employees of research stations try to leave their location during this period of time, and return here only closer to warming, when the summer temperature stops at the level of -25 – 0 degrees.
And with such features of such a peculiar glacial zone, the fact that dry valleys were found on this continent was even more surprising and even somewhat shocking, which in appearance somewhat resembled not only the sandy expanses of the notorious Sahara, but also generally extraterrestrial civilizations.
This discovery has become sensational in the world of science. The first dry valleys discovered by American sailors in the last century. Our pioneers did not have time with the opening of just a few days. This eternal rivalry between America and Russia has been going on since the distant times of our difficult historical past.
After a lot of scientific research, scientists came to the conclusion that the dry valleys of Antarctica can safely be recognized as the driest of all existing in the world. They immediately include three valleys, called oases, these are Taylor, Victoria and Wright. Victoria, signifying the victory of the discoverers, is the only one not covered by an ice layer.
It is hard to believe, but the fact remains and indicates that these lands have not seen rainfall for two million years. And the explanation for this turned out to be quite banal, since constant Katabatic winds live in such harsh lands. The speed of such a wind flow reaches 320 km / h. For this reason, moisture here simply does not linger and instantly evaporates after the next invasion of such severe weather conditions. And where such a wind rages, the valleys are practically not covered by ice or snow. It was not easy to detect among many kilometers of ice. And only thanks to the inhuman persistence of the discoverers, scientists were able to identify such a miracle.
Moreover, science did not stand still and continued its research, having discovered on this continent a number of salt lakes and a mass of bacteria and living organisms very valuable for research. And that is not all. It turned out that these discoveries confirm the presence of life on Mars, since climatic and other conditions completely coincide with the environment of this amazing planet. And even more obvious resemblance to the cosmic cousin of these valleys gives the rusty red appearance of boundless deserts, surrounded by mountains and not knowing the traces of either the plant or animal world.
In connection with these discoveries, the American corporation NASA declared this continent a protected area and constantly conducts its secret tests here, launching specially equipped Viking-series devices on the lands of Antarctica.
And another amazing, but somewhat terrifying discovery was a bloody waterfall located in the Taylor Valley. The uniqueness of this water stream is that the water is painted in a bright red color, which creates a somewhat wild and terrifying impression. And the reason for this is the presence of numerous microorganisms and anaerobic bacteria, the main component of which are elements of sulfur and iron.
Of course, there are many places on our planet that are more suitable for visiting numerous tourists. There life is like a paradise tale, and there is never a winter or a cold. But such a unique region as Antarctica attracts with its unique beauty and mystery. And scientists will have to work hard to at least unveil the veil of the mystery that this amazing continent hides.
