Shaw River (Western Australia)

The Shaw River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named by explorer F.T. Gregory on 21 August 1861 after Norton Shaw, Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society.[3]

Shaw River
Location
CountryAustralia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationChichester Range
 • elevation510 metres (1,673 ft)[1]
Mouth 
 • location
De Grey River
 • elevation
23 metres (75 ft)
Length160 kilometres (99 mi)
Basin size6,510 square kilometres (2,514 sq mi)[2]
Discharge 
 • average191 GL/a (6.1 m3/s; 214 cu ft/s)

The headwaters of the river rise below the Chichester Range near Emu Springs and flow in a northerly direction through Hillside. The river is braided and has many islands in the riverbed including Long Island and Rocky Island. The river continues through Gorge Range and flows north until discharging into the De Grey River, of which it is a tributary, just south of the North West Coastal Highway approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) East of Port Hedland.

The river has 23 tributaries including Big Creek, Tambourah Creek, Coolargarrak Creek, Dalton Creek and Miralga Creek. It also flows through one major pool; Coondina Pool.

During drought conditions the river can have zero flow for up to 4 years at a time.

The water quality of the river is dependent on flow but has an average salinity of 110 mg/L and a turbidity of 78 NTU.

References
  1. "Bonzle Digital Atlas – Map of Shaw River". 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  2. "Surface Hydrology of the Pilbara Region". 2009. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  3. "Mr. F.T. Gregory's Expedition to the N. W. Coast of Australia". The Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News. 29 November 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2017.


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