The Turner River is a river 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 ...

Overview

The headwaters of the river rise below Pullcunah Hill and flows in a northerly direction and crosses 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 ...

approximately south of

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

and discharging into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The riverbed is alluvial and highly braided. The river has three

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 ...

; Turner River East, Turner River West and Red Creek. It also flows through two large permanent pools, Kunagunarinna Pool and Moorambine Pool. The mouth of the river is a large

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

area that is mostly unmodified. The estuary functions primarily as a result of tidal energy. It covers a total area of , which is mostly made up of salt-marsh with a small colony of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s. Much of the river catchment is used for cattle (grazing); excess nutrients cause some eutrophication in some pools upstream. Some mining also occurs within the catchment area. In 1952

Lang Hancock Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock (10 June 1909 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's ...

flew his plane low through the gorges in the Turner River to escape bad weather when he noticed the red ochre coloration of the rocks and thought it could be a significant deposit of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

. He later returned to collect samples which he duly had tested and discovered he had found a huge deposit of high grade ore.

References

Rivers of the Pilbara region {{WesternAustralia-river-stub