The Styx River is the main drainage system of the valley that lies about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Hobart, with the nearest town being Maydena.

Temperate wet eucalypt forests in the region are home to the world's tallest flowering plants, Eucalyptus regnans.

Rainforest gullies are carpeted in mosses and lichens and shaded by the tree ferns Dicksonia antarctica, known locally as man-ferns, and other rainforest tree species including southern sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum), myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) and celery-top pine (Phyllocladus aspleniifolius).

[citation needed] Community blockades including tree sits have been supported by Greenpeace and the Tasmanian Wilderness Society.

Gandalf's Staff, an 85-metre (279 ft) tall eucalypt, holds the world record for supporting the highest tree sit platform.