It flows generally east from its source at the northern end of the Maungaharuru Range passing the settlement of Putorino to reach Hawke Bay 25 kilometres southwest of Wairoa.

[2] The river was called Waikare until given an official name in 1941.

[3] In the 1931 earthquake a tsunami hit the river mouth, leaving fish up to 15 metres above the high tide level.

[7] A huge amount of logs and forest debris swept down by the cyclone still covered the river mouth and adjacent coastline in October 2023.

This article about a river in the Hawke's Bay Region is a stub.