Owen Stanley Range is situated towards the southeastern side of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. The region was named after Captain Owen Stanley who explored the region on the south coast of Papua in 1849. Towards the eastern extremity of the Owen Stanley Range lies the Mount Victoria which is 4,072 meters above the sea level and the subsequent ranges are Mount Thynne and Lilley that extend towards the western region. The Owen Stanley Range also consists of the elongated chain of mountain range such as the Mount Chapman of 3,376 meters high, Mount Albert Edward of 3,990 m that is separated by the Wharton Chain.
The Owen Stanley Range is bordered on the south-western end by broken country and practicable passes. The popular pass of the range is the Kokoda Track and this region is a biologically important part of the Asia Pacific. The 3,800 m high Mount Albert Edward of the Owen Stanley Range is the home to rainforest Eco-region of South East Papua. The variation in climate and the height of the region has created rich vegetation that is usually found in the savanna, lowland rainforest, monsoon forest as well as cloud forest. The rare variation of sub-alpine herb and grasslands are found in this part of New Guinea.
The Owen Stanley Mountains has the richest floras in New Guinea with more than 4000 species of plant and the floral diversity is so vast that it goes beyond the World Heritage listed wet tropic rainforests that are in the North Queensland. The Owen Stanley forest is the home to critically endangered animal and bird species as well.