The channel of the Valo Grande (VG) in the Ribeira de Iguape River (São Paulo State, Brazil), inaugurated in 1852, is one of the largest environmental disasters in the Brazilian coast. This article presents a synthesis of the historical, ecological, geographic and sociopolitical dimensions involving the VG. The VG has promoted the ecosystem disrupting and the landscape reconfiguration of Cananéia-Iguape estuary...