Robe River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The headwaters of the river rise in the

Hamersley Range The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley (senior), Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his explo ...

near Marana Spring then flow in a north westerly direction past the Robe River-Deepdale mine, crossing the

North West Coastal Highway North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and ...

near the Pannawonica turnoff then discharging into the Indian Ocean near Robe Point. Robe River has two

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

; Mungarathoona Creek and Kumina Creek. The Robe is an

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

river and is restricted to a series of permanent pools that act as important refugia for native fauna through the dry season. The rivers experiences periodical flooding. Following Cyclone Monty in 2004 the river was in full flood resulting in Pannawonnica being cut off and people being rescued from the roof of

Yarraloola Yarraloola or Yarraloola Station is a pastoral lease that once operated as a sheep station but is currently operating as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is located west of Pannawonica and east of Onslow along the Robe River in ...

homestead. In 2009, following heavy rainfall, the river burst its banks cutting roads and railway lines. Yarraloola Station was evacuated and

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

railway network was disrupted as a result.

References

External links

{{Rivers of Western Australia Rivers of the Pilbara region