The Encyclopædia Britannica excludes "lowland Khuzestan" explicitly[5] and characterizes Elam as spanning "the region from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau".

[6] From the Caspian Sea in the northwest to the Sulaiman Mountains in the southeast, the Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi).

It encompasses a large part of Iran, all of Afghanistan, and the parts of Pakistan that are situated to the west of the Indus River,[note 2] covering an area of some 3,700,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi) In spite of being called a plateau, it is far from flat, and contains several mountain ranges; its highest point is Noshaq in the Hindu Kush at 7,492 metres (24,580 ft), and its lowest point is the Lut Desert to the east of Kerman, Iran, at below 300 metres (980 ft).

The plateau extends from East Azerbaijan province in northwest of Iran (Persia) all the way to Afghanistan and Pakistan west of the Indus River.

Several small streams that flow into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains.

The Indus River begins in the highlands of Tibet and flows the length of Pakistan almost tracing the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau.

[10] The plateau is abundant with wildlife including leopards, bears, hyenas, wild boars, ibex, gazelles, and mouflons.

The shores of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf house aquatic birds such as seagulls, ducks, and geese.

Deer, hedgehogs, foxes, and 22 species of rodents are found in semidesert, and palm squirrels and Asiatic black bears live in Baluchistan.

Pears, apples, apricots, quince, plums, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and peaches were commonly seen in the 20th century.

Other edibles include potatoes and cauliflower, which were hard to grow until European settlement brought irrigation improvements.