| |
Area Information
Location:
The Pilbara is located 1,537 kilometers north of Perth and covers 507,896 square kilometers (including off-shore islands) of land area. It is bordered by the Kimberley in the North, the Indian Ocean on the West, the Gascoyne in the South, and the Northern Territory Border on the East. The region embraces the Shires of Ashburton, Roebourne, East Pilbara and the Town of Port Hedland. It is the home to a massive mining industry in oil, salt, natural gas and iron ore.
Weather:
The climate of the Pilbara is semi-arid and arid, with high temperatures and low rainfall. During the summer months, average temperatures range from 25°C to 36°C while winter would be warm when temperatures average range from 14°C to 27°C.
The Pilbara town of Marble Bar set a world record of most consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 37.8 degrees Celsius or more, during a period of more that 5 months from 1923 to 1924.
Like most of the north coast of Australia the coastal areas of the Pilbara experience frequent tropical cyclones from beginning of November to end of April.
Population:
The Pilbara has a population of about 42,000 people and is well known for the mobility of its populace, most of them short-term residents. There is a large itinerant population that moves through the Pilbara during the winter months, the "grey nomads" as they call them. There also tends to be a migration of people away from the region during the summer months of December and January.
The region has a unique population comprising widely contrasting societies and cultures. The population is relatively young, as many people are attracted here for employment. There is a high Aboriginal population, and a high percentage of people born in other countries represented in the community. Census data reveal that many of these residents are of English speaking origin, whereas the true picture of non-English speaking residents is likely to be underestimated, as they are not counted as “usual residents”.
Isolation and transport:
The flight between the Pilbara and Perth (where the nearest tertiary Centres are located) takes approximately two hours by commercial jet. Road distances between communities and service points are large, making regular travel by road potentially unsafe. Click here for distances between towns and larger communities in the Pilbara.
For more information click here
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
