A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rolling hills, rising to 633 m (2,077 ft) at Mount Dandenong, as well as steeply weathered valleys and gullies covered in thick temperate rainforest, predominantly of tall mountain ash trees and dense ferny undergrowth.

After European settlement in the Port Phillip Bay region, the range was used as a major local source of timber for Melbourne.

Today, The Dandenongs are home to over 100,000 residents and are popular amongst visitors, many of whom stay for the weekend at the various bed & breakfasts throughout the region.

Well-represented bird species include the Sulfur-crested cockatoo, Superb lyrebird, Laughing kookaburra, and Crimson Rosella.

It is significantly cloudier than Melbourne, particularly in winter due to heavy orographic lifting brought about by cold fronts.

The local region has experienced substantial warming in recent decades [3] and heavy snowfalls which were once common have become rare.

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.

[citation needed] In 1938, the aircraft Kyeema crashed on the western face of Mount Corhanwarrabul due to heavy fog and poor navigation.

This tower, on Observatory Road and adjacent to the Skyhigh lookout and restaurant now carries only some of Melbourne's commercial FM broadcast channels.

Due to the climate of the region, the type of vegetation and the topography, the Dandenong Ranges periodically experience bushfires.