Carnarvon, at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, is the only large town between Geraldton and Karratha, and is an oasis within an arid region. East of the town, the landscape near the river features banana and other horticultural plantations, while the vegetation in the surrounding region is primarily shrublands. The highway skirts east of Carnarvon, and crosses the Gascoyne River north-east of Robinson Street, the main road into the town. Carnarvon to Port Hedland North of Carnarvon, the highway passes through desert and becomes very flat. Bridges span many ephemeral rivers and creeks, with strands of eucalyptus along their floodplains. The next roadhouse, beyond Carnarvon, is the Minilya Roadhouse adjacent to the Minilya River. further on is the turnoff to the North West Cape area, including Cape Range National Park, Coral Bay and Exmouth. North West Coastal Highway reaches the Pilbara after , where it deviates further inland. The highway continues north-east for , crossing the Ashburton River close to Nanutarra Roadhouse. Nearby it intersects Nanutarra Munjina Road, an access road to the mining towns of Tom Price and Paraburdoo and the ghost town of Wittenoom. Over the next , the road crosses the Robe River, near the turnoff to Pannawonica, the Fortescue River, adjacent to the Fortescue River Roadhouse, and Maitland River, before it reaches Karratha Roadhouse. The roadhouse is located at the turnoff to Karratha, the nearby town of Dampier, and the Burrup Peninsula. east, Roebourne is the gateway to Wickham, Point Samson and the ghost town of Cossack. The highway continues east to the locality of Whim Creek, crosses the Yule River after a further , and finishes beyond at Great Northern Highway, south-west of Port Hedland and South Hedland. History Origins Before the mid-1920s, travelling north from Geraldton necessitated going through Mullewa, Dairy Creek and Gascoyne Junction. In 1926, a direct route joining Geraldton and Carnarvon was constructed, shortening the trip by . At first, this was little more than a rough bush track, at least partly used for extracting sandalwood. As there was often little water along this route, tanks with catchment roofs were built at eight locations along the track. The tanks were named for their distance from Carnarvon, at 40, 55, 85, 110, 125, 150, 180, and 200 miles. These tanks provided a life-saving function but when the road was later sealed, they became less important and were gradually removed except for