The middle reaches pass through land cleared for agriculture, especially viticulture.
There is a weir across the river just above the town. The mouth of the river is a small estuary, closed to the ocean by a sandbar that opens only seasonally.
Margaret River is presumed to be named after Margaret Wyche, cousin of John Garrett Bussell (founder of Busselton) in 1832.
^Western Australia. Margaret River Catchment Management Plan Working Group; Water Authority of Western Australia (1993), Margaret River and Ten Mile Brook catchment management plan 1993-1998, Water Authority of Western Australia, ISBN978-0-7309-5263-3
^Hanran-Smith, Genevieve; Milton, Kristin; Western Australia. Water and Rivers Commission; Natural Heritage Trust (Australia); Geographe Catchment Council; Cape to Cape Catchments Group; Cape to Cape Catchments Group (W.A.) (2003), Margaret River action plan : 2003, Water and Rivers Commission, ISBN978-1-920687-40-3
^Western Australia. Dept. of Environment; Western Australia. Dept. of Environment. Water Resources Division; Western Australia. Dept. of Environment. Water Resources Division (2005), Margaret River Catchment Area (including Ten Mile Brook Catchment) drinking water source protection plan : Margaret River, Prevelly, Gnarabup and Cowaramup town water supply, Dept. of Environment, ISBN978-0-7309-7544-1
Brearley, Anne (2005). Ernest Hodgkin's Swanland: Estuaries and coastal lagoons of Southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press. ISBN1-920694-38-2.