The river drains part of the Lara-Falcón dry forests ecoregion.

[1] In the 16th century it was known that there was gold in the Yaracuy, Santa Cruz and Aroa rivers, and in 1605 gold deposits were found in a small valley leading to the Aroa River.

[2] The king gave the Aroa mines in perpetuity to Dr. Francisco Marín de Narváez and his heirs in exchange for 40,000 pesos.

[3] In 1824 the mines were leased to British entrepreneurs who exploited deposits of copper.

[4] They used the Aroa River to carry the ore by barge to the coast, where it was loaded onto ships.