They culminate in the peak of Carleatheran, whose 485-metre (1,591 ft) summit is crowned by a trigonometrical pillar.
To their east are the Touch Hills, whilst to the south is Carron Valley Reservoir.
The hills are defined to the north by a 300-metre (980 ft) craggy escarpment overlooking the glen of the River Forth.
The bedrock across the larger part of the area is the basaltic Gargunnock Hills Lava Member.
[2] The larger part of the plateau surface is covered by peat formed during the Holocene epoch.