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Abstract. Over the last half century, the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV)of East Antarctica have become a globally important site for scientificresearch and environmental monitoring. Historical data can make importantcontributions to current research activities and environmental management inAntarctica but tend to be widely scattered and difficult to access. Weaddress this need in the MDV by compiling over 5000 historical photographs,sketches, maps, oral interviews, publications, and other archival resourcesinto an online digital archive. The data have been digitized andgeoreferenced using a standardized metadata structure, which enablesintuitive searches and data discovery via an online interface. The ultimateaim of the archive is to create as comprehensive as possible a record ofhuman activity in the MDV to support ongoing research, management, andconservation efforts. This is a valuable tool for scientists seeking tounderstand the dynamics of change in lakes, glaciers, and other physicalsystems, as well as humanistic inquiry into the history of the SouthernContinent. In addition to providing benchmarks for understanding change overtime, the data can help target field sampling for studies working under theassumption of a pristine landscape by enabling researchers to identify thedate and extent of past human activities. The full database is accessiblevia a web browser-based interface hosted by the McMurdo Long Term EcologicalResearch site: http://mcmurdohistory.lternet.edu/ (last access: 5 May 2020). The completemetadata data for all resources in the database are also available at theEnvironmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/6744cb28a544fda827805db123d36557(Howkins et al., 2019).