It covers an area of 230,853 hectares (570,450 acres) and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.

The terrain contains extensive sandstone plateaus covered in savannah vegetation with lower drainage areas holding the streams.

The park contains much of the upper basin of the Carinhanha River and of the sub-basins of its tributaries such as the Itaguari, Mato Grande, Preto and Canabrava.

[2] As a national park it has the basic objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoor recreation and eco-tourism.

[2] Protected species in the park include the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), colocolo (Leopardus colocolo), Brazilian merganser (Mergus octosetaceus), marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), Brazilian three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) and Owl's spiny rat (Carterodon sulcidens),.