[3] Port Hedland has a natural deep anchorage harbour which, as well as being the main fuel and container receival point for the region, was seen as perfect for shipment of the iron ore being mined in the ranges located inland from the town.

[4] Other major resource activities supported by the town include the offshore natural gas fields, salt, manganese, and livestock.

The locomotive from the Port Hedland to Marble Bar rail service is now preserved at the Kalamunda Historical Village in the south of the state.

Port Hedland is known by the Indigenous Kariyarra and Nyamal people as Marapikurrinya, which either means "place of good water" (as told by a Nyamal language speaker) and makes reference to the three reliable fresh water soaks that can still be seen in and around the town, or as the town council's website says "refers to the hand like formation of the tidal creeks coming off the harbour (marra - hand, pikurri - pointing straight and nya - a place name marker)".

[citation needed] The coastline in the area was seen by European mariners as early as 1628, when the Dutch merchant ship Vianen, captained by Gerrit Franszoon de Witt visited.

Peter Hedland arrived in the area in April 1863 on board his boat Mystery, which he had built himself at Point Walter on the banks of the Swan River.

[6] Later in 1863, government surveyor Joseph Beete Ridley examined Mangrove Harbour while exploring the country between Nicol Bay and the Fitzroy River, describing it as "an excellent anchorage and perfectly landlocked".

Wedge encountered difficulties in his efforts, as he was hampered by heavy rain and the tidal creeks around Mangrove Harbour and was unable to reach the proposed port site to survey its suitability.

Port Hedland was seen as a good location, as it is in an area where many asylum seekers arriving by boat were entering Australia, and it had an international airport that would allow for easy deportations when required.

A lack of accommodation made it difficult for companies to operate efficiently, as they were unable to house staff or consultants within the town's small number of hotels.

[20] In October 2019 the state government announced an Improvement Plan would be imposed over the West End of Port Hedland.

The purpose of the plan was to prohibit all future residential development due to the health impacts caused by dust levels generated by Port activities.

[22] Port Hedland has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) although subject to the influence of tropical cyclones.

Port Hedland is very warm to sweltering all year round, with mean maximum temperatures of 36.4 °C (97.5 °F) in January and 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in July.

[24] The high summer temperatures experienced in Port Hedland mean that most tourists to the area choose to visit in the cooler months between May and September.

Other species present include Australian bustards, bush stone-curlews, western bowerbirds, painted finches and canary white-eyes.

[30] The Blackrock Stakes was a 122 km race from Goldsworthy to Port Hedland in which competitors, either in teams or as individuals, push wheelbarrows weighed down with iron ore.

It was first run in 1971, and competitors pushed a wheelbarrow full of iron ore from a remote mine site into Port Hedland.