It is on the Nullarbor Plain, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from its western fringe; the topography is flat and well grassed, with saltbush and bluebush, with small belts of myall and myoporum trees.

[4] Rawlinna is the southernmost end of the Connie Sue Highway, a 4-wheel drive track that extends 650 km (400 mi) north to the Aboriginal community of Warburton.

[3] A small, open-cut limestone mine is 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the settlement, from which lime is extracted for gold production at Kalgoorlie.

Visitors come from far and wide each year to the popular gymkhana known as the "Nullarbor Muster", which benefits a number of charities.

Before 1951, when diesel locomotives were introduced, steam locomotives required frequent servicing because of poor water quality; Rawlinna was one of four major stations that had workshops and facilities such as a food store and bakery operated by the Commonwealth Railways,[7]: 117  and a school which took part in an annual inter-school sports day alongside students from Cook and Tarcoola.