Jabal Maqlā‘ is one of the tallest mountains in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula and the estimated terrain elevation is around 2,326 metres (7,631 feet) above sea level.

[citation needed] The town of Al-Bad', Saudi Arabia lies to the north.

The mountain is near one of the tallest in Saudi Arabia, Jabal al-Lawz, which is about 7 kilometers to the north and a few hundred meters taller.

The summit of Jabal Maqlā consists mainly of dark-colored hornfels derived from metamorphosed volcanic rocks that originally were silicic and mafic lava flows, tuff breccias, and fragmental greenstones.

The middle and lower slopes of Jabal Maqlā consist of light-colored granite, which has intruded into the overlying hornfels.