The range is the remains of an extinct volcano last active 373 million years ago.1 It consists predominantly of Devonian dacite and rhyodacite.
The topography consists of a series of ridges dissected by deeply cut streams. Sheltered gullies in the south of the range are home to temperate rain forest, fern gullies and Mountain Ash forest Eucalyptus regnans, whereas the drier ridges and exposed northern slopes are covered by dry sclerophyll forest of stringybarks and box. The entire range is highly prone to bushfires, the most recent of which have been the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, the 1997 Dandenong Ranges bushfires and small fires during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
A number of watercourses originate in the Dandenongs, these include:
The Dandenong Ranges are home to a variety of native Australian mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate species. Well-represented bird species include the Sulfur-crested cockatoo, Superb lyrebird, Laughing kookaburra, and Crimson Rosella. Mammals include the Short-beaked echidna, Common wombat, Sugar glider, and Swamp wallaby. Invertebrates include two species of burrowing crayfish.
The Dandenong Ranges' climate is generally cool and wet, with daily temperature variation generally low, often as low as 1 degree in the winter months. Rainfall is fairly uniform through the year, tending to peak between April and October with lower rainfall during January and February. The mean annual rainfall is between 1000 and 1500 mm, increasing with elevation and from west to east.3 The elevation means that daytime temperatures are typically 4 to 6 °C cooler than the lower suburbs of Melbourne to the west [1], with temperatures typically lowering by 1 °C for every 120 metres (390 ft) of elevation. Due to the elevation, upslope fog is common in the winter months. It is significantly cloudier than Melbourne, particularly in winter due to heavy orographic lifting brought about by cold fronts.
Snow typically falls a few times a year above 500 m, mostly between June and October and can be heavy at times. A rare summer snow occurred on Christmas Day 2006 [2]. The local region has experienced substantial warming in recent decades [3] and heavy snowfalls which were once common have become rare. The last significant snowfall to affect the Dandenong Ranges was on August 10, 2008, when as much 15 cm (5.9 in) fell at the highest elevations.
A Bureau of Meteorology weather station sits at an elevation of 513 m in the Ferny Creek Reserve in the southern part of the Dandenong Ranges. This weather station replaced one that was previously located on the summit of Dunns Hill.
Around 240,000 people live in and around the Dandenong Ranges, depending on the definition. The following settlements are located in the Dandenongs themselves (72,500~):
Some settlements located on and around the plateau to the east of the ranges are sometimes included (14,200~):
Settlements in the southern and western foothills are also sometimes included (180,500~):
The ranges are located near the boundary between the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people's territories. The two nations were part of the Kulin alliance and were most often on friendly terms. The mountain range, however, was not often frequented by either nations people as mountainous areas were often considered one of many resting places for various spirits.
In 1938, the aircraft Kyeema crashed on the western face of Mount Corhanwarrabul due to heavy fog and poor navigation. Eighteen people died.7
There are several large television transmission towers on various summits that were initially constructed to broadcast TV to Central Victoria
Channel 7, 9 and 10 all transmit from the 204M high ' Ornata Road ' TXA owned tower just to the South of Burke's Lookout. This tower also carries some of Melbourne, Victoria's commercial FM broadcast services. It also carries DAB+ digital radio services. Channel 2 services ( ABC, JJJ, emergency services, Govt owned ) transmit from the 130M high Broadcast Australia ' Eyre Road ' tower. This is an interesting tower in that the base is of four legged, freestanding design, while the upper portion is guyed by two sets of three guy cables. This tower is just to the North of Burke's Lookout. Adjacent to the Broadcast Australia tower, is the TXA ' Eyre Road ' standby tower, capable of transmitting 7, 9, and 10 signals in the event of an Ornata Road transmitter/antenna failure. This tower stands at 130M also and is a conventional four legged freestanding design. About 2 km to the North of this group of three towers, stands the original Channel 9 tower, built in 1956 to a height of 69M. This tower, on Observatory Road and adjacent to the Skyhigh lookout and restaurant now carries only some of Melbourne's commercial FM broadcast channels.
Sherbrooke Falls, Sherbrooke
Camping is not permitted within the National Park and fire restrictions may apply during the summer months. There are no rubbish bins in the national parks and visitors must leave with all items that they arrived with. Camping is permitted near Gembrook at Kurth Kiln Regional Park. Please stay informed and be prepared, so as to ensure you have a fun and safe experience. It is important to observe weather conditions and warnings during the bushfire season and follow official recommendations.
Due to the climate of the region, the type of vegetation and the topography, the Dandenong Ranges periodically experience bushfires. Some of the recent occurrences included:
Birch, William D. (1994). Volcanoes in Victoria. Royal Society of Victoria. ISBN 0730606279. 0730606279 ↩
Survey mark and counter data has been accessed from the State of Victoria Land and Survey Spatial Information[2] ↩
"Climate statistics for Australian locations - Dunns Hill". Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 24 September 2017. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086372_All.shtml ↩
"Climate statistics for Mt Dandenong". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 25 August 2024. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086243_All.shtml ↩
"Sun hours from Toolangi". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 25 August 2024. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086142_All.shtml ↩
"2016 Census QuickStats: Belgrave". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 3 June 2020. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC20187 ↩
"The Crash of Kyeema" (PDF). Flight safety Australia. November 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20070929093248/http://www.casa.gov.au/fsa/1998/nov/kyeema.pdf ↩