McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research centre located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents, and serves as the United States Antarctic science facility. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo.

A female member of the Ahbab Al-Mustafa Battalion holds a gun as she undergoes military training in Aleppo's Salaheddine district, June 24, 2013. (Photo by Muzaffar Salman/Reuters)

Iranian Arabs who are members of the paramilitary Basij force march in a military parade marking the 35th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran, in front of the shrine of late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, September 22, 2015. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

A National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter fires an RPG during a street battle in the 700 complex area of “Emarat” against Muammar Gaddafi's troops on October 8, 2011 in Sirte, Libya. NTC fighters say this is the final assault on Muammar Gaddafi's home town as they capture the main hospital, University and the Ouagadougou conference centre in the city. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Ng Sin Nee (L) and Lee Shin May (R) from Malaysia take pictures with the panoramic view of the city from the Sky Box at KL Tower, the world's seventh tallest telecommunications tower, in Kuala Lumpur on May 24, 2016. Officially opened on May 20, the Sky Box has been the latest attraction for tourists arriving to the Malaysian capital. It stands 300 metres above ground and can fit six people at any one time, and offers spectacular views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

Kayla Amara sprays down their home as the Hughes Fire burns in Castaic, California, U.S. January 22, 2025. (Photo by Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters)

A tourist walks inside the Ice Palace glacier hollow at Hintertux glacier, located at around 3250 meters above sea level, in Zillertal, Austria, 02 March, 2016. The hollow's temperature remains constant at 0 degrees Celsius, in summer and winter alike, and is also used by the University of Innsbruck for scientific research projects. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/EPA)

Mahouts return home with their elephants carrying grass to feed them on the eve of the rhino census in Kaziranga National Park in Assam state, India, 24 March 2015. Kaziranga will be closed to visitors for the next two days for a census of the rhinos commencing 25 March, in a previous census in 2013 in the park the population of the Indian rhinos was 2329. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)