Which is the driest place on Earth?

Contrary to common belief, the driest area in the earth is on the continent of Antarctica. Antarctica is expected to be covered in ice and therefore not dry, but about 4800 sq. km of Antarctica are completely devoid of ice and snow and are called the Dry Valleys. The Dry Valleys of Antarctica have not experienced rain for an estimated 2 million years. This is caused by a phenomenon called Katabatic winds which occur when cold dense air is pulled down by the force of gravity. These winds, which can reach speeds of 320 kmph (200 mph), get heated as they descend which causes all the water, ice and snow to evaporate thus leaving the valley completely dry.

More Info: www.universetoday.com

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31 Comments

gridirongreen

The driest place on earth is my throat and i"m fixin to fix that. 3 ounces rum, 5 ounces of mater juice and a few ice cubes should do it. But wait, I'm not sure if this site allows such activity.

Louella Wilson

Ron Harvey, sorry, but did you not read what Wiki said. Which is "The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world" NOTE: NON POLAR.

Kath Thomson

According to livescience.com, Antarctica's Dry Valleys are actually the world's driest spot. Rainfall is 0.

Orlando Giménez

The Atacama Desert in Chile, known as the driest place on Earth, is awash with color after a year's worth of extreme rainfall.

darylhopper dh

Flavio, I luv it! But pretty sure many may not get it😁.

Jim Mascair

gridirongreen, I don't know if I've ever played The Quizz Club sober in my life. I guess it's just a hang over from my college days.

William Laughlin

jhoehl, When EVERY question is "great", where is the compliment? That makes them all the same; ie average. Your praise is moot.

Susan Madanat

Louella Wilson, On an antiques show someone brought in a fossilised crab which her father had found in the Sahara desert in Libya. The world has gone through massive changes in its lifetime.

Louella Wilson

I watched an interesting documentary last week which featured excavations of dinosaur fossils from this region of Antarctica. Hard to believe that Antarctica was once forested, and the climate benign enough for dinosaurs to cross between what is now South America and Australia.

Louella Wilson

Claudia Heilke, as others have said here "the Atacama receives less than 1 mm of precipitation each year". Dry, but wetter than the Dry Valleys.

Jeff Leonard

Flavio, 🤣👍

Val Sweet

I think the answer is correct. Many sources state the Atacama is the driest non polar region

Helen Dakin

I don't see why the poles can't be considered. They're on Earth, aren't they?

Lynne Zeman

gridirongreen, funny.... but what is mater water?

Stevie G

The Atacama is the driest place on earth, other than the poles. It receives less than 1 mm of precipitation each year, and some areas haven't seen a drop of rain in more than 500 years.