Oakover River

The Oakover River is a river in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

Oakover River
Location
Country	Australia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Wadara Range
• elevation	437 metres (1,434 ft)[1]
Mouth
• location	De Grey River
• elevation	126 metres (413 ft)
Length	376 kilometres (234 mi)
Basin size	16,383 square kilometres (6,326 sq mi)[2]

The headwaters of the river rise north of the Wadara Range and west of the Saltbush range near Junction Well then flows in a northerly direction. The river continues north running parallel to the Gregory Range until merging with the Nullagine River to form the De Grey River.

The river flows through many permanent pools on its journey including; Toocoonaragee Pool, Carawine Pool, Yilgalong Pool and Ngumberramooring Pool.

There are 22 tributaries of the river including; Davis River, Stag Arrow Creek, Woodie Woodie Creek, Vanadium Creek, Yownama Creek and Yilgalong Creek.

The first European explorer to find the Oakover was Francis Thomas Gregory.[3] Fellow explorer Peter Warburton crossed the river strapped to a camel toward the end of his trek across the Great Sandy Desert in 1873.[4]

The traditional owners of the area are the Njamal or Nyamal peoples.[5]

References

1. "Bonzle Digital Atlas – Map of Oakover River". 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
2. "Department of Water - River Monitoring stations - Oakover River - Ripon Hills Road". 2009. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
3. "Gutenberg Project The History of Australian Exploration Chapter XII". 2000. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
4. "Australian Dictionary of Biography - Peter Warburton". 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
5. "Ausanthrop - Australian Aboriginal tribal database". 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.