Wright Valley
The Wright Valley, named for Sir Charles Wright, is the central one of the three large Dry Valleys in the Transantarctic Mountains, located west of McMurdo Sound at approximately . Wright Valley contains the Onyx River, the longest river in Antarctica, Lake Brownworth, the origin of Onyx River, and Lake Vanda, which is fed by the Onyx River. Its southwestern branch, "South Fork", is the location of Don Juan Pond. The upland area known as the Labyrinth is at the valley's west end.

Although portions of the interconnected valley system were discovered in 1903 by the Discovery expedition led by Captain Scott, the Wright Valley located near the centre of the system was not seen until aerial photographs of the region were made in 1947.
By the mid 1960s scientists were becoming increasingly intrigued by the paradoxical fact that the valley lay immediately adjacent to the permanent East Antarctic Ice Sheet, yet had remained ice-free for at least thousands of years. Although Lake Vanda is covered by roughly of ice year-round, lake temperatures of had been reliably measured at a depth of . 

Increasing summer field activity and a clear need to establish a winter record led New Zealand's Antarctic Division and the National Science Foundation of the United States to plan a more permanent base in the Valley. In 1968 New Zealand established Vanda Station near the eastern end of Lake Vanda.

Martin Cirque occupies the south wall of Wright Valley between Denton Glacier and Nichols Ridge.
Q2325110
Sir Charles Wright
PER
Q571433
Dry Valleys
LOC
Q319671
Transantarctic Mountains
LOC
Q1056751
McMurdo Sound
LOC
Q203098
Onyx River
LOC
Q51
Antarctica
LOC
Q6475079
Lake Brownworth
LOC
Q1190747
Lake Vanda
LOC
Q384811
Don Juan Pond
LOC
Q6467710
Labyrinth
LOC
Q3110700
Vanda Station
LOC
Q6775147
Martin Cirque
LOC
Q5259605
Denton Glacier
LOC
Q7026572
Nichols Ridge
LOC
Q1572103
Wright Valley
LOC
Q1572103
Wright Valley
LOC
Q1572103
Wright Valley
LOC
Q1572103
Wright Valley
LOC
1903-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1903
DATE
1947-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1947
DATE
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
DATE
1968-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1968
DATE
mountain range
located in or next to body of water
continent
continent
lakes on river
continent
continent
location