[3] The river basin includes the 498 hectares (1,230 acres) Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station, a fully protected conservation unit.

As gold mines were fully exploited and exhausted in the valleys' by the 1730s, agricultural produce got a boost with cultivation of corn and cotton.

Consequently, in the southern part of the river valley, the cities of Minas Novas, Turmalina, Capelinha, Malacacheta, Novo Cruzeiro and Lufa have been established.

The primary and secondary deposits have been fully exploited in some of the well known mines that surround the small town of Araçuaí (in the middle of Minas Gerais province), such as the Coronel Murta (for aquamarine), the Rubelita (for tourmaline), Itinga and Taquaral.

However, in spite of so many rich mines, the rural town of Araçuaí, in the upper Jequitinhonha Valley, has not developed and is considered the poorest part with "its social and economic similarities to the semi-arid northeast of Brazil".

However, the monuments that have survived the flood devastation are the Nossa Senhora do Rosário Church and the old mansions of Domingos de Abreu Vieira in Araçuaí town.

[10] The world's largest pegmatite deposits, with gemstones such as emeralds, topaz, aquamarine and tourmaline are found in these geological formations.