[2][3][4][5] Its area is 835.706 km2, including the Calabaça (pumpkin), Canindezinho, Ibicatu, Naraniú and Lagoa Verde (green lagoon) districts.

Pioneer explorers of the region saw the valley on the dangerous walk towards Cariri and named it Várzea Alegre after the floodplain or lowland where the city is located.

The city's assets consisted of a patch of land, donated by Major Joaquim Alves Bezerra, his wife and others, on October 19.

Natural resources include soil, water and vegetation favoring agricultural development, but the city has never had a policy of land recovery and constantly finds itself plagued by drought, forcing people to seek survival in urban areas.

The main streams are the Machado, São Miguel, and the Riacho do Meio (Middle Creek) and its tributaries the Mocotó, Caiana, Feijão and Umari dos Carlos, irrigating the entire territory and serving as natural boundaries between Cedro and Lavras da Mangabeira.