| Yarra Ranges National Park Victoria | |
|---|---|
 A waterfall in the national park near Marysville | |
  Yarra Ranges National Park | |
 | |
| Nearest town or city | Melbourne |
| Coordinates | 37°40′50″S 145°59′27″E / 37.68056°S 145.99083°E |
| Established | December 1995[1] |
| Area | 760 km2 (293.4 sq mi)[1] |
| Visitation | 800,000 (in 2002)[1] |
| Managing authorities | Parks Victoria |
| Website | Yarra Ranges National Park |
| See also | Protected areas of Victoria |
Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state, Victoria, roughly 107 km (66.5 mi) northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995, and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-rich, temperate rainforest as well as a subalpine, eucalypt-dominant forest on its northern plateau. The park is home to large groves of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), the tallest species of tree in Australia, and among the tallest in the world, with specimens reaching 80 metres (262 ft) in height.[2] A wide diversity of flora, fauna and fungi (nearly 6,000 documented species on iNaturalist.org)[3] make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including iconic Australian species such as bandicoots, echidnas, kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, possums, sugar and greater gliders, wallabies and wombats. There are nearly 200 documented species of birds in the area, with at least 60 herpetofaunal (reptile and amphibian) species, thousands of invertebrates and worms, over 900 types of fungi and mushrooms, and over 1,000 plant species. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are climate change and invasive species of weeds, as well as the interaction of native species with non-native, introduced invasive animals, such as European hares and rabbits, domestic sheep, feral cats and dogs, red foxes, South Asian sambar deer, and European red and fallow deer.[4]
In winter, Lake Mountain, located on the plateau at the northern end of the park, provides cross-country skiing on both groomed and ungroomed ski trails.
- ^ a b c Yarra Ranges National Park management plan (PDF) (PDF). Government of Victoria. June 2002. ISBN 0-7311-3134-7. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Australian Native Plant Society (Australia) Eucalyptus regnans".
Mountain ash is the tallest hardwood tree in the world with specimens reaching 80 metres or more in height. Only the softwood Californian redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are taller, one of these having been recorded at about 113 metres. However, it is believed that specimens of E.regnans felled during the 1800s may have reached more than 140 metres (Guiness Book of Records), making the species the tallest tree ever recorded on earth in historic times. Sadly, all of these majestic giants have been felled.
- ^ "Observations • iNaturalist".
- ^ "Observations • iNaturalist".