Onyx River
| Onyx River | ||
 Map of the Onyx (2007) |
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| Data | ||
| location | Wright Valley , Victoria Land , Antarctica | |
| source | from Lake Brownworth , Lower Wright Glacier 77 ° 25 ′ 48 ″ S , 162 ° 45 ′ 0 ″ E |
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| muzzle | in the Lake Vanda coordinates: 77 ° 33 ′ 24 ″ S , 161 ° 5 ′ 30 ″ E 77 ° 33 ′ 24 ″ S , 161 ° 5 ′ 30 ″ E
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| length | 30 km | |
| Flowing lakes | Lake Brownworth , Lake Vanda | |
 Lake Vanda with the Onyx (2007) |
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The Onyx River is the longest river on the Antarctic continent . It is an approximately 30 km long meltwater river that is fed by the Lower Wright Glacier . It flows in a westerly direction, the Wright Valley , one of the Antarctic dry valleys ( Dry Valleys ) in Victoria Land , and empties into the Lake Vanda .
It has several tributaries and only flows during the late Antarctic summer (February, March); the rest of the time, the course of the river is visible as a mere ice band. The water level is subject to strong fluctuations over the years, in some years the river does not reach Lake Vanda.
No fish live in the Onyx River, only animal and vegetable microorganisms .
Web links
Commons : Onyx River - collection of images, videos and audio files
- Landforms: The Dry Valleys (engl.)
- Antarctica's longest river , page 16, and What the flood revealed , pages 15–21, Antarctic Sun (PDF file; 1.46 MB), January 26, 2003