Aerial view of the Convoy Range in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Although most of Antarctica is covered with ice up to 5 km deep, these mountain valleys have been ice-free for the past 8 million years. The Transantarctic Mountains form a wall, holding back the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, resulting in the Dry Valleys on the other side. These barren valleys provide an enormous opportunity for geological study. For more information on the McMurdo Dry Valleys, read the January 26, 2003, edition of THE ANTARCTIC SUN, available at: www.usap.gov.