[1] It is located in the Cantabrian Mountains, and bordered on the north by Cangas del Narcea, on the south by Castile and León, and on the west by Ibias.

The municipality split off from Ibias in 1863 and took its name from the parish of the same name, which was the largest settlement in the area at the time.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Popular Front recorded victories in the area.

[2] Following the closure of many of the mines in the region, Degaña suffered a major population decline, shrinking by almost 50 percent since 1996.

[3] In an attempt to correct the dire situation, the Spanish Ministry of Environment invested in a plan that would promote ecotourism and counterurbanization in Degaña and Ibias in order to stimulate economic growth in the struggling regions in 2023.