The railway extension, in metre gauge, still exists and is currently operated by the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica company.

In the mid-twentieth century, the municipality was an essential part of the implementation of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional – CSN, Volta Redonda, and the endpoint for coking coal supplied from Santa Catarina.

Its current importance is due, in part, to having a ferry terminal facility in the Bay of Ilha Grande and its harbour, used by TEBIG Petrobras, which transports large quantities of crude oil, and thus positions the port of Angra dos Reis as one of the busiest in the country.

Most of the region consists of hilly terrain, which helped generate the landslides that occurred at the beginning of 2010, when numerous homes and hotels were severely damaged or destroyed, mainly on Ilha Grande.

[4] It contains the 3,502 hectares (8,650 acres) Praia do Sul Biological Reserve, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 1981 on the Ilha Grande.

[7] The conservation units are contained within the 12,400 hectares (31,000 acres) Tamoios Environmental Protection Area, created in 1982.