The Vargem do Braço River rises in the lushly-forested Serra do Tabuleiro State Park, a 84,130 hectares (207,900 acres) protected area created in 1975.

[3] The Serra do Tabuleiro, with altitudes above 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), is the largest mountain in the east-central portion of the state.

[4] The river is the main source of water for the greater Florianópolis metropolitan region.

[4] The river seems to have flowed north-northwest until quite recently, when a major tectonic event forced it to change its course.

It now flows east-northeast to enter the Cubatão River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean.