Alatna Valley is an ice-free valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 lying 4 miles (6 km) north of Mount Gran

Mount Gran

Mount Gran is a large flat-topped mountain, 2,235 m, standing at the north side of Mackay Glacier and immediately west of Gran Glacier in Victoria Land. Discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition which named it for Tryggve Gran, Norwegian naval officer who was a ski expert with the expedition....

 and trending east-northeast for about 10 miles (16 km) along the southeast side of the Convoy Range

Convoy Range

Convoy Range is a broad mountain range, much of it with an almost flat, plateau-like summit, extending south from the Fry Saddle and ending at Mackay Glacier...

. It is one of the northernmost of the McMurdo Dry Valleys

McMurdo Dry Valleys

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of snow-free valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The region is one of the world's most extreme deserts, and includes many interesting features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest river.-Climate:The Dry...

. Parker Calkin, U.S. geologist, made stratigraphic studies in the valley during the 1960–61 season. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...

 in 1963 for the gasoline tanker which participated in Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...

1958–59 and 1959–60, and in keeping with other ship names in the Convoy Range.