The terrain is mostly barren semi-desert and widespread 'takir', a type of seasonal salt flat or dried clay deposit in an interdune depression.

[1][2] The region is mostly at a low altitude along the base of the mountains, particularly in a 20 km (12 mi) wide strip of cultivated land that reaches 300 km (190 mi) east to the capital city of Ashgabat.

But there is significant cultivation in the strip on the northern edge of the Kopet Dag.

There is also herbaceous ground cover and cultivation in the southern 50–100 km (31–62 mi) of the region, particularly in Iran.

A small portion of Golestan National Park in Iran crosses into the Kopet Dag semi-desert.