The Cane River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. With its headwaters rising west of 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, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the ...

, the river flows in a north-westerly direction through the Cane River Conservation Park and over the Onslow Coastal Plain, and eventually discharges into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

near Yardie Landing approximately north-east of Onslow. The river is considered to be

dendritic Dendrite derives from the Greek word "dendron" meaning ( "tree-like"), and may refer to: Biology *Dendrite, a branched projection of a neuron *Dendrite (non-neuronal), branching projections of certain skin cells and immune cells Physical *Dendri ...

with no major tributaries; numerous wells exist within the catchment area. The river has one large permanent pool, Jabaddar Pool, which is located downstream from 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 a ...

. The mouth of the river is a largely unmodified estuary that works as a function of tidal energy. The

estuary 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 enviro ...

covers a total area of that is mostly

saltmarsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It ...

but with a small colony of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s. In 1866 explorer

Harry Venn Harry Whittall Venn (27 October 1844 – 8 March 1908) was an Australian politician. He was the member for Wellington in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 1901. He served as commissioner of railways and minister of works f ...

, who later was a member of the Forrest Ministry, named the river after Charles Cane, a member of Venn's expedition. The waters have an average

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

of and

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

of 335 NTU. Cane River has a large

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

that is situated within the boundaries of Peedamulla Station. The river delta had become degraded as a result

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

particularly prior to 1970 when the station was running 100,000 head of sheep.

References

{{Rivers of Western Australia Rivers of the Pilbara region