Port Hedland is the gateway to the Pilbara, and is one of the most historic towns in the region. The town handles the largest tonnage of any Australian port. You can not swim in ocean off Port Hedland and surrounds due to sea snakes, sharks, stone fish and blue ringed octopus which frequent the waters. Over millions of years rain has carved the ancient range into many different shapes and gorges. The walls are vibrant bands of browns, greens, blues and pinks.
Vegetation is sparse and the primitive grandeur of the bare rock is more apparent .
Stretching more than 300 kilometres through the Pilbara is the Hamersley Range. In the south the mountains slope gently up to flat-topped outcrops and in the north they rise majestically from golden spinifex plains. The main activity in the area is mining, centred at towns like Tom Price, Paraburdoo and Newman. The Great Sandy Desert is a seemingly endless stretch of sand ridges and sandy desert. Only chains of salt lakes break the pattern.