It flows from the northwestern slopes of the Alpine National Park in the Australian Alps, south and joins with the Mitta Mitta River within Lake Dartmouth.

[1] The river rises in remote state forestry land within the Wabba Wilderness Park, below the Great Dividing Range.

The river flows generally south by southwest, joined by six minor tributaries before reaching its confluence with the Mitta Mitta River at Lake Dartmouth, formed by the Dartmouth Dam.

The river is popular for fishing, with abundant brown trout to 400 grams (14 oz), some rainbow trout to 200 grams (7.1 oz), numerous river blackfish to 80 grams (2.8 oz) and a few small redfin and Macquarie perch at some times of the year.

The area is considered historically significant due to its relatively undisturbed setting of the history of gold mining, with many machinery relics from the 1870s.