It is a highland region named after the Akkadian goddess Ishtar,[2] and is found in the north of the planet.

[3] Note that Ishtar Terra is located near the negative pole if Venus's rotation is defined as prograde by the right-hand rule.

[4] The rotation of the planet is commonly characterized as retrograde in order to correlate its northern hemisphere with Earth's, in which case Ishtar Terra is near the north pole.

In size, it is roughly between Australia and the contiguous United States,[5] making it the second-largest of the terrae.

On one side of the mountain chain is the impact crater Cleopatra Patera, 100 kilometers (62 mi) in diameter filled with lava.