Lying 24 kilometres north of the Tropic of Capricorn, and only an hour's drive from Tom Price, Paraburdoo is a small mining town.

Affiliated with the iron ore mining industry, the town was purpose-built to accommodate its workers. Construction of the town commenced in January 1970.

Paraburdoo was named after the Aboriginal name Pirupardo, which literally means 'meat feathers', so named because of the abundance of corellas (a type of native bird) in the area.

The town offers a motel/hotel complex, a hospital, a college, a variety of sporting facilities, and a well stocked shopping centre.