Major Mountain Ranges of Oceania

Three Continental-Scale Ranges

1. Great Dividing Range (Australia)

• Length: 3,500+ km (2,200 mi) — world's 3rd longest land range.
• Span: Cape York (QLD) → Grampians (VIC).
• Highest: Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m / 7,310 ft).
• Significance: Watershed for Murray-Darling, coastal rivers; forests, snowfields, goldfields.

2. Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (New Zealand)

• Length: 500 km (300 mi) — South Island spine.
• Highest: Aoraki/Mount Cook (3,724 m / 12,218 ft).
• Features: Glaciers (Tasman, Fox, Franz Josef), tectonic uplift (Pacific/Australian plate collision), Fiordland.

3. Owen Stanley Range (Papua New Guinea)

• Length: 500+ km — SE peninsula.
• Highest: Mount Wilhelm (4,509 m / 14,793 ft) — highest in Oceania.
• Features: Cloud forests, WWII Kokoda Track, extreme biodiversity, gold/copper (Ok Tedi).

Other Notable Ranges

• New Guinea Highlands (Jayawijaya, PNG/Indonesia) — Puncak Jaya (4,884 m) — highest in Oceania if including Indonesian Papua.
• Fiji: volcanic peaks (Mt. Tomanivi 1,324 m).
• Hawaii (geographically Oceania): Mauna Kea (4,207 m) / Mauna Loa.

Oceania's mountains are young, active, and spectacular—born of fire and collision.