The boundaries of this district are Bay of Bengal in the East, East Godavari district in the South, Orissa state in the West and North directions. In the olden days this place used to be apart of Kalinga kingdom ruled by Chalukyans, Vijayanagara kings, Golkonda Nawabs and British Empire. Srikakulum and Vijayanagaram districts were under this district before the formation of the two districts in 1950 and 1979 respectively.

Forest occupies 42% of the district area. Forest yields quality Timber and Bamboo useful in Paper Industry. State Forest Department Planted Cashew nut trees and Eucalyptus trees throughout the district. Coffee Estates are picking up their produce each year of progress. Titanium's ores, Magnalyte and Bauxite ores, quality Clays, Mica, and Graphite are the minerals found in this soil. Vishakapatnam so often called as the Metropolitan City of Andhra Pradesh has developed a lot since last decade. Major Industries are setup in the district especially in the Head quarters because of the Seaport.