It is located in the Brazilian Highlands at an elevation of 823 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level on the Uberaba River, and is situated 418 kilometres (260 mi) from the state capital, Belo Horizonte.

Its strategic location and function as a crossroads prompted local farmers to engage in crop cultivation and cattle domestication for commercial purposes, leading to the establishment of a robust livestock network in the region.

This area features the Paleontological Research Center Llewellyn Ivor Price and a museum dedicated to local fossil discoveries.

[18] In 2011, Petrobras selected Uberaba as the site for its UFN-5 (Nitrogen Fertilizer Unit 5), which was designed to connect to the Gasbol pipeline and produce 1,500 metric tons of ammonia daily.

[19] Construction of UFN-5 began in 2014 as part of the PAC-2, but was suspended in 2015 at 30% completion due to Petrobras' financial crisis, influenced by Operation Car Wash, and the company's redirection of resources to pre-salt oil fields.

[20][21] After listing the site for sale without a successful auction, the Government of Minas Gerais transferred it back to Uberaba in 2021 under a 20-year lease.

[22] Uberaba is recognized for housing a significant paleontological site in Brazil, boasting fossil records dating back approximately 80 to 66 million years, from the Late Cretaceous period.

The first paleontological discoveries in the territory were made by chance in 1945 when workers in the rural district of Peirópolis accidentally came across well-preserved fossils.

[25] As an integral part of the Research Center, The Dinosaur Museum aims to disseminate paleontological knowledge to the general public through interactive and educational exhibitions.

The railway system is managed by VLI Multimodal S.A., which operates the rail network linking the local intermodal terminal to the southeastern corridor of Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica.