The headwaters of the river rise in the Chichester Range near Zebra Hill and it flows in a north-westerly direction.

The river crosses the North West Coastal Highway south of Karratha then discharges into the Indian Ocean.

Surveyor and explorer Francis Thomas Gregory came to the river during an expedition to the area in 1861.

He named the river after another member of the expedition party, volunteer Maitland Brown.

[3] The traditional owners of the area that the river flows through are the Ngaluma people.