The Ernest River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Kimberley 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...

. There is another Ernest River in Western Australia located in the South West of the state.

The headwaters of the river rise in the Drysdale River National Park

Drysdale River National Park

Drysdale River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia , northeast of Perth.The park lies about south of Kalumburu and west of Wyndham....

 at the foot of Tadarida Scarp then flow in an easterly direction until discharging into the Forrest River

Forrest River

The Forrest River is a river in the Kimberley of Western Australia.The river rises just East of Pseudomys Hill in the Drysdale River National Park and flows in an easterly direction until discharging into the western arm of the Cambridge Gulf....

 of which it is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

.

The River was named in 186 by the Victoria Squatting Company surveyor Charles Burrowes. It is The River was named in 1901 by the surveyor Frederick Brockman. It is not known who he named the river after.