The You Yangs Ridge is a series of granite ridges, rising 364 metres above the Werribee Plain 22 km from Geelong. The main ridge runs north-south for 9 kilometres. Most of the southern spurs of the ridge are included is part of the You Yangs Regional Park. Popular perceptions are that You Yangs is the remnants of a volcano is not true. In fact, the ridge is actually a frozen magma that erupted from the earth some 365 million years ago.
The ridges are home to about 200 species of birds - various species of honeycreepers, kookabarras, white-winged skylarks, tufted tits, purple parrots and others. Animals include mountain kangaroos, flying squirrels, possums and koalas. The nearby Serendip Nature Reserve has a research centre that breeds a research centre that is dedicated to breeding the state's Victoria's endangered wildlife species, such as the Australian bustard.
Despite its low altitude - only 364 metres - the ridge is a dominant of the landscape and is visible from both Geelong and Melbourne, which is a little further away. The hills to the north of You Yangs are the testing ground test site for the Australian branch of the Ford plant.
A landmark of the range is the geoglyph, a giant ground drawing, erected by Australian artist Andrew Rogers in recognition of the Aboriginal people who lived in the area. The drawing depicts the Banjil, a mythical of the Wotarong Aboriginal beliefs. Banjil has a wingspan 100 metres. It took the artist 1,500 tonnes of stones to create this drawing.
The very name of the You Yangs Ridge is derived from the Aboriginal word combination "wurdi Yangs" or "yude Yangs", meaning "the big mountain in the centre of the plain". The Aboriginal people used the holes in the rocks as wells to collect water. The first European to see the You Yangs was explorer Matthew Flinders, who in who climbed the highest peak on the range in 1802. He called it Station Peak, but in 1912 the name was changed to Flinders Peak in his honour.
The You Yangs have always attracted artists, but they were a particular influence on the the work of one of Australia's greatest painters, Fred Williams. He spent many years travelling to these places to capture the You Yangs. Today, these are considered classics of Australian art.
