The river rises on a plateau area near the Wingate Mountains and flows in a north westerly direction through mostly uninhabited country through a narrow valley then across the Moyle Plain and eventually discharging about north east of
Port Keats into Hyland Bay and then the
Timor Sea. An
floodplain region exists along Hyland Bay formed by the Moyle and Little Moyle River. The area is dominated by seasonally inundated grassland and sedgeland with areas of
paperbark swamp.
Mangroves are found along the stretches of the river, creeks and channels that are often backed by saline flats. The
Anson Bay, Daly and Reynolds River Floodplains, an important bird area, is situated immediately to the north of the site. Tom Turners Creek is the only
tributary to the river. The
estuary formed at the river mouth is in near pristine condition with a tidal delta. The
estuary at the river mouth occupies an area of of open water. It is river dominated in nature with a wave dominated delta having single channel and is surrounded by an area of covered with
mangroves. ==Catchment==