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| Dandenong Ranges | |
|---|---|
| Corhanwarrabul, The Dandenongs | |
 Left -Mount Dandenong andright - Mount Corhanwarrabul, viewed fromMooroolbark | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Dandenong |
| Elevation | 633 m (2,077 ft) |
| Coordinates | 37°49′38″S145°21′10″E / 37.82722°S 145.35278°E /-37.82722; 145.35278 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 50 km (31 mi) N-S |
| Width | 10 km (6.2 mi) E-W |
| Geography | |
  Dandenong Ranges Location of the Dandenong Ranges inVictoria | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Victoria |
| Range coordinates | 37°50′08″S145°21′33″E / 37.83556°S 145.35917°E /-37.83556; 145.35917 |
| Parent range | Great Dividing Range |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Devonian |
| Rock types | |
TheDandenong Ranges (commonly justThe Dandenongs) are a set of lowmountain ranges inVictoria,Australia, approximately 35 km (22 mi) east of the state capitalMelbourne. A minor branch of theGreat Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rollinghills, rising to 633 m (2,077 ft) atMount Dandenong, as well as steeply weatheredvalleys andgullies covered in thicktemperate rainforest, predominantly of tallmountain ash trees and denseferny undergrowth. The namesakeDandenong Creek and most of its left-bank tributaries (particularly theEumemmerring Creek) originate fromheadwaters in these mountain ranges. Two of Melbourne's most importantstorage reservoirs, theCardinia andSilvan Reservoir, are also located within the Dandenongs.
After European settlement in thePort Phillip Bay region, the range was used as a major local source oftimber for Melbourne. The ranges were popular withday-trippers from the 1870s onwards. Much of the Dandenongs were protected asparklands as early as 1882, and by 1987 these parklands were amalgamated to form theDandenong Ranges National Park, which was subsequently expanded in 1997. The range receives light to moderatesnowfalls a few times in most years, frequently between late winter and late spring.
Today, The Dandenongs are home to over 100,000 residents and are popular amongst visitors, many of whom stay for the weekend at the variousbed & breakfasts throughout the region. The popularPuffing Billy Railway, a heritage steam railway, runs through the hills villages of the eastern Dandenong Ranges.
The range is the remains of an extinctvolcano last active 373 million years ago.[1] It consists predominantly ofDevoniandacite andrhyodacite.
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 forestEucalyptus regnans, whereas the drier ridges and exposed northern slopes are covered by drysclerophyll forest ofstringybarks and box. The entire range is highly prone tobushfires, the most recent of which have been the 1983Ash Wednesday bushfires, the1997 Dandenong Ranges bushfires and small fires during theBlack Saturday bushfires in 2009.
A number of watercourses originate in the Dandenongs, these include:
| Summit Name | Height (m) | Comments | Location | Source[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Dandenong | 630 | Tallest peak of the Dandenongs | Observatory Road, Mt Dandenong | DANDENONG ECC J survey mark |
| Mount Corhanwarrabul | 612 | Burkes lookout and location of transmission towers | Burkes Lookout Reserve, Eyre Road, Mt Dandenong | contour data |
| Olinda summit | 592 | No official name. Labelled Mt Olinda in older tourist maps. | Range Road, Olinda | contour data |
| Sassafras peak | 538 | No recorded name. | Cooloongatta Road, Sassafras | contour data |
| Dunns Hill | 562 | Location of a number of radio and telephone towers. | One Tree Hill Road, Ferny Creek | contour data |
| One Tree Hill | 500 | Lord Somers Road, Ferny Creek | contour data | |
| Tremont Hill | 395 | No official name. | Tremont Hill Track, Tremont | contour data |
| Chandlers Hill | 405 | Chandlers Track, Tremont | contour data | |
| Johns Hill | 419 | Johns Hill Reserve, Ridge Road, Kallista | JOHNS HILL ECC 1986 survey mark | |
| Black Hill | 374 | Black Hill Reserve, Two Bays Crescent, Selby | contour data | |
| Upwey Hill | 278 | Belmont Street, Upwey | contour data | |
| Lewis Hill | 298 | Queens Road, Silvan | contour data | |
| Nobelius Hill | 320 | Ambrose Street, Emerald | contour data | |
| Mount Morton | 275 | Chaundy Road, Belgrave South | MORTON ECC A survey mark |
The Dandenong Ranges are home to a variety of native Australian mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate species. Well-represented bird species include theSulfur-crested cockatoo,Superb lyrebird,Laughing kookaburra, andCrimson Rosella. Mammals include theShort-beaked echidna,Common wombat,Sugar glider, andSwamp wallaby. Invertebrates include two species ofburrowing 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 ofMelbourne 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 heavyorographic lifting brought about bycold 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.
ABureau of Meteorologyweather station sits at an elevation of 513 m in the Ferny Creek Reserve in the southern part of the Dandenong Ranges. This weather station replacedone that was previously located on the summit of Dunns Hill.
| Climate data for Mount Dandenong GTV9 (1968−1986, rainfall to 2007); 600 m AMSL; 37.83° S, 145.35° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.3 (99.1) | 39.3 (102.7) | 33.6 (92.5) | 28.0 (82.4) | 20.3 (68.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 16.0 (60.8) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.7 (72.9) | 28.7 (83.7) | 33.2 (91.8) | 36.2 (97.2) | 39.3 (102.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) | 22.9 (73.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.7 (53.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 8.2 (46.8) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.6 (52.9) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 19.9 (67.8) | 15.2 (59.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) | 12.6 (54.7) | 11.3 (52.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 6.9 (44.4) | 4.4 (39.9) | 3.6 (38.5) | 4.2 (39.6) | 5.0 (41.0) | 6.8 (44.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 7.8 (46.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) | 4.7 (40.5) | 3.7 (38.7) | 0.7 (33.3) | −0.4 (31.3) | −1.0 (30.2) | −2.3 (27.9) | −2.0 (28.4) | −1.8 (28.8) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.3 (36.1) | −2.3 (27.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 70.2 (2.76) | 61.2 (2.41) | 74.6 (2.94) | 102.0 (4.02) | 129.6 (5.10) | 98.4 (3.87) | 95.5 (3.76) | 116.8 (4.60) | 106.0 (4.17) | 104.8 (4.13) | 109.4 (4.31) | 95.7 (3.77) | 1,165.9 (45.90) |
| Average precipitation days | 12.1 | 8.4 | 12.4 | 13.7 | 18.2 | 17.8 | 20.0 | 19.7 | 17.5 | 16.5 | 15.2 | 12.9 | 184.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 232.5 | 217.5 | 189.1 | 150.0 | 102.3 | 78.0 | 83.7 | 105.4 | 126.0 | 170.5 | 189.0 | 198.4 | 1,842.4 |
| Source 1: Mount Dandenong GTV9 (temperatures and rainfall, 1968–2007)[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Toolangi (Mount St Leonard DPI, sunshine hours 1965–2001)[5] | |||||||||||||
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~):
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The ranges are located near the boundary between theWurundjeri andBunurong people's territories. The two nations were part of theKulin 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.[citation needed]
In 1938, the aircraftKyeema crashed on the western face of Mount Corhanwarrabul due to heavy fog and poor navigation. Eighteen people died.[7]
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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 experiencebushfires. Some of the recent occurrences included:
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