The Ashburton River is located within the Pilbara region

Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore...

 of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. The river rises approximately 100 km south of Newman

Newman, Western Australia

Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...

 and flows in a west north westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 approximately 20 km south west of Onslow

Onslow, Western Australia

Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, north of Perth. It currently has a population of around 573 people and is in the Shire of Ashburton Local Government Area....

. The river crosses the North West Coastal Highway

North West Coastal Highway

North West Coastal Highway in Western Australia is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the fishing town of Geraldton with the iron ore port of Port Hedland. It is long, and constructed as a sealed 2-lane single carriageway with overtaking lanes in some parts. It was...

 at Nanutarra

Nanutarra, Western Australia

Nanutarra, Western Australia is a locality adjacent to where the Ashburton river is crossed by the North West Coastal Highway. It is also close to the turn off for route 136 to Paraburdoo and Tom Price...

. The river has a length of approximately 680 km. The river basin covers an area of 66,850 km² and includes the towns of Paraburdoo and Tom Price.

Tributaries

Some of the larger tributaries of the Ashburton river include Beasley River

Beasley River

The Beasley River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The headwaters of the river rise in the Hamersley Range approximately North West of Tom Price and flows in a south westerly direction through Woongarra Pool before discharging into the Hardey River.The only tributary to the...

, Henry River, Hardey River

Hardey River

The Hardey River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The headwaters of the river rise at Mount Tom Price in the Hamersley Range and flow in a westerly direction...

 and Ethel river.
Some of the smaller tributaries include Duck Creek, Turee Creek, Tunnel Creek, Angelo River, Stockyard Creek, Gorge Creek, Goldfields Creek, Peepingee Creek and Jubricoo Creek.

History

The township of Onslow used to be located at the mouth of the Ashburton river where a jetty

Jetty

A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...

 was used as the town's and region's port, but once the new deep water port facility was completed at Beadon point (15 km north of the old townsite) the townsite was moved.

Fauna

The river supports a wide variety of fish including Barramundi

Barramundi

The Barramundi , also known as Asian Seabass, is a species of catadromous fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. The native species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia. Known in Thai...

 and Mangrove jack.
The occasional salt water crocodile is also spotted in the river.
Bird species such as Black swan

Black Swan

The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...

s, the Striated Heron

Striated Heron

The Striated Heron, Butorides striata, also known as Mangrove Heron, Little Heron or Green-backed Heron, is a small heron. Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to...

, Australian Bustard

Australian Bustard

The Australian Bustard, Ardeotis australis, is a large ground bird of grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is also commonly referred to in Central Australia as the Bush Turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people.The male is up to ...

 and Bush Stone-curlew

Bush Stone-curlew

The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia...

can be found along the river's banks.