The Robe River is a river 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 ...

. 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, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the ...

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 a ...

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

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...

: 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 Severe Tropical Cyclone Monty was a powerful category 4 tropical cyclone that formed during late February 2004. Monty was the 6th tropical cyclone and the 3rd Severe tropical cyclone of the 2003-04 Australian region cyclone season. Monty made lan ...

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 t ...

homestead. In 2009, following heavy rainfall, the river burst its banks cutting roads and railway lines. Yarraloola Station was evacuated and Rio Tinto railway network was disrupted as a result.

References

External links

{{coord, 21, 18, 53, S, 115, 40, 29, E, type:river_region:AU-WA, display=title Rivers of the Pilbara region