Even in years that Lake Eyre fills, such as 2010, most of the water comes from the east, the Channel Country of Queensland.

The western rivers catchment is composed of sandplains, Acacia scrub, gibber plains and dissected residuals.

The traditional owners of the area are the Arabana and Arrernte peoples, both of whom belong to the Central Australian Desert language group.

The Arabana word for the Macumba is Maka-Wimpa which means fire track, the Arrernte word is Ura-Ingka which also means fire track, named so as the river bed would be the path followed by bushfires in the area.

[7] John McDouall Stuart was the first European to explore the area in 1859 when he conducted an expedition to the west of Lake Eyre.