The Pilbara region is located in the north of Western Australia. It is amongst the nine regions of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, and under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA). According to The WA Gas Industry, the region gets its name from pilbarra. In 1885 Goldfield discovered this that it was named on Pilbara Creek which was a tributary of Yule River. Wangka Maya states that the name Pilbara means ‘Dry’.
CLIMATE
High temperature and low rainfall makes the climate of Pilbara both semiarid and arid. In summers the maximum temperature exceeds 32°C everyday and temperature above 45 °C can also be seen. A world record of consecutive days of maximum temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded by the Pilbara town of Marble Bar. A major hazard in Pilbara region are the floods between November and May. A frequent tropical cyclones can be seen in coastal areas of Pilbara. The cyclones does not cause any large scale destruction or life loss due to low population density of Pilbara region.
ECONOMY
Mainly mining and petroleum exports dominate the Pillbara’s economy. In Australia mines are mostly centered around Tom Price and Newman, where iron ores are mined. Over 9000 people are employed in iron ore mining in Pilbara region. World’s major manganese mines are also located in Pilbara, named Woodie Woodie, located 400 km south east of port Hedland. Lang hancock was the first one to discover iron ore reserves in pilbara nad most of the regions are still claimed by his daughter and his family started their own mine work also. In 1943, Blue asbestos was mined for the first time in Wittenoom.
Karijini and Millstream-Chichester national parks, the Dampier Archipelago and the Ningaloo Reef are major attractions to tourist sectors.
Pilbara includes three geographical areas that are Coastal sandplain in the western third and supports most of the industries and population, Eastern third is a desert nad comprises of Aboriginal peoples. Stromatolites are the ancient fossilized rocks. The area also includes granites which are more than three billion years old. Pilbara includes many mining exports and petroleum export industries. Pilbara comprises of many world famous national parks, such as, Karijini national park and millistream national park. Wattle trees are mostly seen in this region.