It is bordered by Fercal to the north, Planaltina to the east, Itapoã to the south, and Lago Norte and Sobradinho II to the west.

According to popular history the name came from the existence of an old cross built long before 1850 along the banks of a stream near the ranch.

On one of the arms of the cross were two little nests of a bird called joão de barro (Rufous hornero – Furnarius rufus), one on top of the other, forming a little two-story house—a sobradinho in Portuguese.

Today that old highway is a four-lane motorway and residents of Sobradinho can be in Brasília in a few minutes time.

The name comes from a style of building called Sobrado, according to the oldest residents, on the farm that originated the region there was a house of joão-de-barro, a bird known for making its nest out of clay.