Antarctic oasis

An Antarctic oasis is a large area naturally free of snow and ice in the otherwise ice-covered continent of Antarctica.

In Antarctica there are, in addition to mountaintops and nunataks, other natural snow- and ice-free areas often referred to as "Antarctic oases" or "dry valleys".

Antarctic oases and dry valleys develop in areas with particular regional weather patterns and geography.

Although these areas are very cold, sufficient solar energy is absorbed by the ground to melt what little snow does fall, or else it is scoured or sublimated by katabatic winds, leaving the underlying rock exposed.

Despite usually extreme aridity, some plants, in the form of bryophytes and lichens, can survive in Antarctic oases.