Its seat is the city São Domingos (Várzea da Igreja).

Smaller settlements in the area include Água do Gato, Achada Banana and Rui Vaz, which is situated on the edge of a 1 km high cliff overlooking Ribeirão Galinha.

While Rui Vaz and Praia Baixo are the main tourist draws in the area, tourism does not constitute a major factor in the region’s overwhelmingly agrarian economy.

Mountains dominate the western border, where the steep relief and lack of rainwater runoff makes large-scale agriculture impractical.

Several dozen subsistence farming villages dot the main road leading towards Assomada, but produce negligible agricultural products for export.