The Harding 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 Pilbara 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 headwaters of the river rise in the Chichester Range in the Millstream-Chichester National Park

Millstream-Chichester National Park

Millstream Chichester National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia , and is located north of the state capital, Perth....

 near Merrinyaginya Spring and flow is a northerly direction. The river flows through Lake Poongkaliyarra and out through Lockyer Gap.
The river continues northward and 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...

 near Roebourne

Roebourne, Western Australia

Roebourne is an old gold rush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the biggest settlement between Darwin and Perth...

 then discharges 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...

 via Butcher Inlet.

The river flows through a number of permanent and semi-permanent pools such as Murringa Pool, Karrawingina Pool and Bamba Pool.

Th river has six tributaries

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...

; Harding River East, East Harding River, Murray Camp Creek and Miller Creek.

The river was named in 1861 by the surveyor and explorer Francis Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory was an English-born Australian explorer and politician.-Biography:Gregory was born at Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and was the younger brother of the explorer Augustus Gregory...

while on expedition in the area. The river is named after one of the volunteer members in his expedition group, John Harding.