Antarctica hides the driest, coldest desert on Earth, and it hasn't snowed in eons

Scoured by katabatic winds that can hit 200 km/h and evaporate any moisture on contact, the McMurdo Dry Valleys have gone without measurable rain or snow for nearly two million years, making them the driest and coldest desert on the planet. NASA has tested Mars rover instruments there because its bone-dry, ice-free soil is the closest analogue on Earth to the Martian surface.

— United States Antarctic Program, McMurdo Dry Valleys — Victoria Land, Antarctica