It is drained by the Doce, Mucury, Jequitinhonha and Pardo, which have their sources on the eastern slopes of the Espinhago and cut their way through the Aymores to the sea.
Its source is in the Serra da Canastra, and its general course across the state is north by east, during which it receives the Paracatu, Urucuia, Pardo and Carinhanha from the west and the Verde Grande and das Velhas from the east.
The more important of these rivers are the Itapicuru, Paraguassu, Contas or Jussiape, Pardo or Patype, and Jequitinhonha, of Bahia; the Mucury, and Doce, of Espirito Santo; and the Parahyba do Sul of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The Guayaquil author, Olmedo, who wrote the famous ode on the victory of Junin, and the Limenians Felipe Pardo and Manuel Segura are names well known wherever the Spanish language is spoken.
During the administration (1872-1876) of President Pardo the government borrowed heavily from the banks to avoid the suspension of work on the railways and port improvements.