Sedimentological, biogeochemical, mineralogical, and chronological investigations were conducted on sediment sequences recovered from lakes Hoare and Fryxell in eastern Taylor Valley, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The sediment sequences provide crucial information to the environmental history of Taylor Valley back into the Middle Weichselian. At that time, eastern Taylor Valley was occupied by the large proglacial Lake Washburn, since the advanced Ross Sea Ice Sheet dammed the valley outlet. Lake Washburn was mainly fed by meltwater and had an oscillating lake level probably depending on climatic variations. Cold and dry climatic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum likely lead to a pronounced lake-level lowering due to evaporation. With the final retreat of the Ross Sea Ice Sheet during the Holocene, Taylor Valley was occupied by remnants of Lake Washburn. Environmental conditions comparable to those of today, with an advanced Canada Glacier separating lakes Hoare and Fryxell, established during the late Holocene.