page_title: Pilbara
section_title: Location and description
hierarchical_section_title: Pilbara / Location and description
caption_attribution_description: English: Maitland River bridge on 14 April 2004 in the Pilbara region of Western Australia following Cyclone Monty (March 1 2004). Picture taken by Ian Peters.
context_page_description: The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.
context_section_description: Under the Regional Development Commissions Act Pilbara is situated south of the Kimberley, and is made up of the local government areas of Shire of Ashburton, Shire of East Pilbara, City of Karratha and Town of Port Hedland.
  The Pilbara region covers an area of 507,896 km² (193,826 mi²) (including offshore islands), roughly the combined land area of the US States of California and Indiana.  It has a population of more than 45,000, most of whom live in the western third of the region, in towns such as Port Hedland, Karratha, Wickham, Newman and Marble Bar.  A substantial number of people also work in the region on a fly-in/fly-out basis.
  There are approximately 10 major/medium population centres and more than 25 smaller ones
  The Pilbara consists of three distinct geographic areas.  The western third is the Roebourne coastal sandplain, which supports most of the region's population in towns and much of its industry and commerce.  The eastern third is almost entirely desert, and is sparsely populated by a small number of Aboriginal peoples. These are separated by the inland uplands of the Pilbara Craton, including the predominant Hamersley Range which has a considerable number of mining towns, the Chichester Range and others. These uplands have a number of gorges and other natural attractions.
  The Pilbara contains some of the world's oldest surface rocks, including the ancient fossilised remains known as stromatolites and rocks such as granites that are more than three billion years old. In 2007, some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth was found in 3.4 billion-year-old sandstones at Strelley Pool, which preserve fossils of sulfur-processing bacteria. The mineralized spheres, which were found on an ancient beach and have a cell-like morphology, were chemically analysed, revealing that they used sulfur for fuel.
caption: 300m of North West Coastal Highway approaches to the Maitland River bridge were destroyed during Cyclone Monty
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