named after the local word for the native vultures, 'urubu', the 'ilha dos urubus' (island of the urubus) is a strip of land covered in mangrove and located on the western shore of the santa cruz neighborhood.

it stands right at the mouth of the canal do são francisco (são francisco canal), a structure built to direct the guandu river, the most important water course in the western region of rio de janeiro.

along the coast to the south of 'ilha dos urubus' are wide camps of mangrove, extending all the way to the sepetiba neighborhood and its beaches of white sand.