Karratha is an Australian city adjoining the port of Dampier in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, which was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the petroleum and liquefied natural gas operations of the North West Shelf Venture. At the 2011 census, Karratha had a population of 16,475. The city's name comes from the cattle station from which land was reclaimed for the development. Karratha in the local Aboriginal language means 'good country' or 'soft earth'.