[citation needed] Located in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, the Chola Mountains are a result of uplift caused during the Indian subcontinent's collision with the Eurasian Plate.

The Chola Mountains lie on the northeastern edge of a semi-independent tectonic block as part of the greater Eurasian Plate.

The mountains range's abrupt northeastern edge is formed by the Ganzi segment of the Xianshuihe Fault where two blocks of the tectonic plate are experiencing strike-slip movement under stress.

[5] The Chola Mountains form part of the drainage divide between the Upper Yangtze (Jinsha) and Yalong River watersheds.

[6] Numerous glacial-fed lakes have formed along the northeastern edge of the Chola Mountains, with Yihun Lhatso in the Tro Chu valley being the most notable.

To the north and east, the Tibetan Plateau consists of montane grasslands and shrublands including the Southeast Tibet shrub and meadows ecoregion.