It flows through a fertile valley devoted to grassland-based agriculture with limited arable cropping.

The underlying geology is basalt and the water is slightly alkaline with magnesium making an unusually large contribution to total hardness.

The river supports indigenous stocks of Atlantic salmon and brown trout.

[5] Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the river, is the source of water used for distilling Bushmills whiskey.

It is managed as a premier salmon river by Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), Inland Fisheries Division.