Due to high water table and frequent flooding, the area has remained relatively forest-free, and is today characterized by extensive wetlands of bogs and grasslands.

[1] [2] The northern section stretches about 300 km in a northwest-to-southeast direction on the Russian side of the south-flowing Amur River.

The Amur has meandered and shifted over the long term, leaving flat, alluvial soils that support rich wildlife, as well as competing agriculture.

This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with long, cold winters and short, cool summers with no averaging over 22 °C (72 °F).

[3] In the wet meadows on the lowest levels and terraces, the dominant plants are reed grasses (Calamagrostis).