The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal people, its geography, its red earth, and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.
Definitions of the Pilbara region
thumb|North of the Pilbara looking south at the range
At least two important but differing definitions of "the Pilbara" region exist. Administratively it is one of the nine regions of Western Australia defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993; the term also refers to the Pilbara shrublands bioregion (which differs in extent) under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA).
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!rowwidth=100px colspan=5|IBRA regions and subregions: IBRA7
|-
!scope="col" width="250px"|IBRA region / subregion!!scope="col" width="100px"|IBRA code!!scope="col" width="250px"|Area!!scope="col" width="75px"|States !! Location in Australia
|-
|Pilbara shrublands ||align="center"|PIL ||align="right"| ||align="center" rowspan=5|WA ||align="center" rowspan=5 colspan=3|100px
|-
|align="right"|Chichester|| align="center" |PIL01 ||align="right"|
|-
|align="right"|Fortescue|| align="center" |PIL02 ||align="right"|
|-
|align="right"|Hamersley|| align="center" |PIL03 ||align="right"|
|-
|align="right"|Roebourne|| align="center" |PIL04 ||align="right"|
|}
Geography
thumb|[[Hamersley Range]]
thumb|400px|Map of Pilbara
The Pilbara region, as defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 and administered for economic development purposes by the Pilbara Development Commission, has an estimated population of 61,688 , and covers an area of . It contains some of Earth's oldest rock formations, and includes landscapes of coastal plains and mountain ranges with cliffs and gorges. The major settlements of the region are Port Hedland, Karratha and Newman. The three main ports in this region are Port Hedland, Dampier and Port Walcott.
Under the Regional Development Commissions Act, Pilbara is situated south of the Kimberley, and comprises 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 km<sup>2</sup> (193,826 mi<sup>2</sup>) (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.
thumb|left|Weano Gorge in Karijini National Park
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 people. The two areas are separated by the inland uplands of the Pilbara Craton, including the predominant Hamersley Range, which has numerous mining towns, the Chichester Range, and others. The uplands have many 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 sulphur-processing bacteria. The mineralised spheres, which were found on an ancient beach and have a cell-like morphology, were chemically analysed, revealing that they used sulphur for fuel.
An extinct genus of stromatolite-forming cyanobacteria, Pilbaria, was named after the region, where the type specimen was found.
Urban centres and localities
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan=2 | Rank !! rowspan=2 | !! rowspan=2 | LGA !! colspan="10" | Population
|-
!
!
!
!
!
!
! 2016 census
!
! 2021 census
!
|-
|| 1 || Karratha || Karratha|| align="right" |10,730 || ||align=right|11,728 || ||align=right|16,475 || ||align=right|15,828 || ||align=right|17,013 ||
|-
|| 2 || Port Hedland || Port Hedland|| align="right" |12,695 || || align="right" | 11,557 || || align="right" | 13,772 || || align="right" |13,828 || || align="right" |15,298 ||
|-
|| 3 || Newman || East Pilbara|| align="right" |3,516 || || align="right" | 4,245 || || align="right" | 5,478 || || align="right" |4,567 || || align="right" |4,239 ||
|-
|| 4 || Tom Price || Ashburton|| align="right" |3,095 || ||align=right| 2,721 || ||align=right| 3,134 || ||align=right|2,956 || ||align=right|2,874 ||
|-
|| 5 || Wickham || Karratha|| align="right" |1,724 || || align="right" | 1,825 || || align="right" | 1,651 || || align="right" |1,572 || || align="right" |2,016 ||
|-
|| 6 || Paraburdoo || Ashburton|| align="right" |1,202 || ||align=right| 1,607 || ||align=right| 1,509 || ||align=right|1,359 || ||align=right|1,319 ||
|-
|| 7 || Dampier || Karratha|| align="right" | 1,469 || || align="right" | 1,370 || || align="right" | 1,341 || || align="right" |1,104 || || align="right" |1,282 ||
|-
|| 8 || Onslow || Ashburton|| align="right" |802 || || align="right" |576 || || align="right" |667 || || align="right" | 848 || || align="right" |813 ||
|-
|| 9 || Roebourne || Karratha|| align="right" |950 || || align="right" |857 || || align="right" |813 || || align="right" | 627 || || align="right" |700 ||
|-
|| 10 || Pannawonica || Ashburton|| align="right" |618 || || align="right" |686 || || align="right" |651 || || align="right" |695 || || align="right" |685 ||
|-
|| 11 || Jigalong || East Pilbara|| align="right" |300 || || align="right" |273 || || align="right" |357 || || align="right" |333 || || align="right" |289 ||
|-
|| 12 || Point Samson || Karratha|| align="right" |322 || || align="right" |274 || || align="right" |298 || || align="right" |211 || || align="right" |235 ||
|-
|| 13 || Kiwirrkurra || East Pilbara|| || || || || align="right" |216 || || align="right" |165 || || align="right" |180 ||
|-
|| 14 || Marble Bar || East Pilbara|| align="right" |234 || || align="right" |194 || || align="right" |208 || || align="right" |174 || || align="right" |153 ||
|-
|| 15 || Nullagine || East Pilbara|| || || || || align="right" |178 || || align="right" |194 || || align="right" |147 ||
|}
Local government
The Pilbara region, under the Pilbara Development Commission, contains four local government areas:
- AshburtonShire of Ashburton
- East PilbaraShire of East Pilbara
- KarrathaCity of Karratha
- Port HedlandTown of Port Hedland
Etymology
According to the Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre Wangka Maya, the name for the Pilbara region derives from the Aboriginal word bilybara, meaning "dry" in the Nyamal and Banyjima languages. Another suggested origin is pilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the salt-water mullet found in local waters, reflected in the name of a tributary of the Yule River, Pilbarra Creek, which evolved to "Pilbara" Creek.