You Yangs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids You Yangs(Wurdi Youang) |
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The You Yangs viewed from the south, with Avalon Airport in the foreground
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Flinders Peak |
| Elevation | 319 m (1,047 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 24 km (15 mi) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Australia |
| Range coordinates | 37°57′S 144°26′E / 37.950°S 144.433°E |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Devonian |
| Type of rock | Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic |
The You Yangs are a group of rocky hills in Victoria, Australia. They are about 55 kilometers (34 miles) southwest of Melbourne. These hills are made of granite rock. The highest point is Flinders Peak, which is 319 meters (1,047 feet) tall.
Even though they are not very high, the You Yangs stand out in the flat landscape. You can easily see them from nearby Geelong and Melbourne. A large part of the You Yangs is protected as the You Yangs Regional Park. This park is a great place to visit, but you cannot camp there.
The You Yangs are also home to a special artwork called a geoglyph. It shows Bunjil, who is a creator spirit in the Dreamtime stories of some Indigenous people of Victoria. Bunjil is shown as a wedge-tailed eagle. An artist named Andrew Rogers made this geoglyph. It was created to honor the local Indigenous Wathaurong people. The artwork is huge, with wings that spread 100 meters (328 feet) wide. It was built using 1,500 tonnes of rock.
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History of the You Yangs
The name "You Yang" comes from Aboriginal words. It might mean "big mountain in the middle of a plain" or "big hill." Another idea is that it means "bald." The word yow.wong from the Woiwurrung language, meaning granite stone, is also a possible origin.
The Yawangi people, who are Indigenous Australians, used to live around the You Yangs. They made natural hollows in the rocks bigger to create wells. These wells could hold water even when it was dry. The area was also called Morong-morongoo because of the many murnong plants that grew there.
The first European to visit the You Yangs was an explorer named Matthew Flinders. On May 1, 1802, he climbed to the highest point. He called it "Station Peak." Later, in 1912, the name was changed to "Flinders Peak" to honor him.
The You Yangs have inspired many artists. One of Australia's most famous artists, Fred Williams, painted them often. He spent a lot of time painting the You Yangs outdoors. His paintings show the rugged and dramatic beauty of the Australian bush.
The You Yangs were even used as a filming location. Some battle scenes for the HBO miniseries The Pacific (miniseries) were filmed there. This show was about World War II.
Where are the You Yangs?
The You Yangs are surrounded by several towns. Here are some of the closest ones:
- Balliang is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to the northwest.
- Little River is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) to the east.
- Lara is about 7 kilometers (4 miles) to the south.
- Geelong is about 31.5 kilometers (20 miles) to the south.
- Werribee is about 37.5 kilometers (23 miles) to the east.
Two small rivers flow near or through the You Yangs. Hovells Creek starts in the western part of the hills. The Little River flows around the You Yangs to the north and east.
How the You Yangs Were Formed: Geology
Many people think the You Yangs are old volcanoes, but that's not true! They are actually an inselberg, which is a lonely hill that stands out on a flat plain. The You Yangs are made of granite. This granite started as hot, melted rock called magma. This magma slowly pushed its way up into other rocks underground. This happened during the Devonian period, about 365 million years ago. At that time, the land surface in Victoria was much higher than it is today.
The magma cooled down and became solid rock before it reached the surface. Because it cooled very slowly, large white crystals of feldspar formed inside the rock. You can see these crystals in many of the granite rocks in the You Yangs. The rock also has crystals of grey quartz and two black minerals called hornblende and biotite.
There are also tiny crystals of minerals like allanite and titanite. These minerals contain small amounts of radioactive elements. Scientists used titanite crystals to figure out that the You Yangs granite became solid 365 million years ago. Sometimes, you might see dark grey lumps in the granite. These are called xenoliths. They are pieces of other rocks that got mixed into the magma as it moved.
Over millions of years, the land surface has eroded away. Because granite is a very hard rock, it has resisted erosion better than the softer rocks around it. This is why the You Yangs now stand tall. The rounded shapes of the rocks are caused by cracks in the granite. These cracks formed as the rock slightly shrank while cooling. Weather and erosion have also created a sandy soil that covers the areas where the granite meets other rocks.
Climate, Plants, and Animals
The You Yangs are in one of the driest parts of Victoria. This is because of a "rain shadow" created by the Otway Ranges to the southwest. A rain shadow means that the mountains block the rain. The You Yangs get only about 450 millimeters (18 inches) of rain each year. Because of this, the area has mostly grassland and low woodlands, not thick forests.
Plants of the You Yangs
The most common native tree in the You Yangs is the river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). It grows on the lower slopes and in valleys. Yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) grows on the low and middle slopes. Blue gum (Eucalyptus pseudoglobulus) is found on the rugged upper slopes.
Other native trees include red box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), grey box (Eucalyptus microcarpa), and yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora). You can also find manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), red ironbark (Eucalyptus tricarpa), cherry ballart (Exocarpos cupressiformis), and silver and black wattle (Acacia dealbata and Acacia mearnsii). The smaller plants are mostly grasses and saltbushes. Some areas have snowy mintbush (Prostanthera nivea) and drooping cassinia (Cassinia arcuata).
Many plants that are not native to Australia also grow in the You Yangs. Some were planted on purpose for wood, like sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx). Others have spread into the area by accident. Examples include boneseed (Chyrsanthemoides monilifera) and bridal creeper (Asparagus asparagoides).
Animals of the You Yangs
The You Yangs are home to more than 200 different kinds of birds. Some of these include tawny frogmouths, different types of honeyeaters (like white-naped and New Holland), kookaburras, and eastern rosellas. You might also see sulphur-crested cockatoos and eastern yellow robins.
Many mammals live in the park too. You can find eastern grey kangaroos, echidnas, and swamp wallabies. There are also sugar gliders, brushtail and ringtail possums, and koalas.
Koalas in the You Yangs have been studied since 2006. Scientists can identify individual koalas by looking at their nose patterns. In 2017, there were about 105 koalas in the park. This was a decrease from about 161 koalas in 2007. Koalas in the You Yangs prefer to rest in river red gum trees. Scientists have even tracked four generations of one koala family!
Near the You Yangs is the Serendip Sanctuary. This is a special center run by the Victorian government. They work to breed endangered wildlife species from Victoria. For example, they have helped with the Australian bustard and the brolga (Antigone rubicundus).
