Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

in Morobe Province, eastern

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. It is named after

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterre and

Cromwell Mountains The Cromwell Mountains is a mountain range on the Huon Peninsula in north-eastern Papua New Guinea. The range is part of the Huon Peninsula montane rain forests. The character and species composition of the forests varies with elevation. Species ...

. The nearest large town is the Morobe provincial capital Lae to the south, while settlements on the north coast include the former German town of Finschhafen, the district capital of Wasu, Malalamai and Saidor with its World War II era Saidor Airport. The area was the site of the Huon Peninsula campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in 1943-44 as Japanese troops retreating from Lae fought their way over the Finisterre Mountains to Madang on the north coast.

Flora and fauna

The rainforests that cover these remote mountains provide habitats for many birds and animals and have been designated the Huon Peninsula montane rain forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

. The rainforest of the hillsides consists of shorter trees and more herbs than you would find in lowland rainforests around the world, with predominant species of tree including '' Pometia'', '' Canarium'', '' Anisoptera'', '' Cryptocarya'' laurels, and '' Terminalia'', while the higher slopes have thicker forests of yet smaller trees and the higher slopes of the Cromwell Range in particular hold the best-preserved large forest of '' Dacrydium'' conifers in the southern hemisphere. Mammals indigenous to the Huon region include the endangered Matschie's tree-kangaroo, while the birds include many of typical

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecolo ...

n families such as bowerbirds, Australian robins, honeyeaters (including the endemic spangled honeyeater) and birds of paradise (including the endemic Huon astrapia). There are also endemic butterflies. Although some logging has taken place, the forests of the Huon Peninsula mountains are mostly undisturbed.

Conservation

The raised beach coastal terraces of Huon were added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage Tentative List on June 6, 2006 in the Mixed (Cultural + Natural) category. In 2009 the

YUS Conservation Area YUS Conservation Area is a protected area on the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It was established in 2009 as Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, and named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som rivers that flow through it. T ...

was established in the northern part of the peninsula. YUS stretches over 760 km² and includes the three rivers, Yopno, Uruwa and Som, for which it was named.Conservation International
retrieved 19 May 2010

Flora and fauna

Conservation

See also

References

Further reading