The Makonde Plateau is a roughly rectangular, rising from the coast west of Mtwara Region.

The eastern portion is dissected by many stream valleys, while the western end is higher, reaching 900 meters elevation.

It is located on the southwest corner of the plateau, and has expansive vistas over the plains to the west, and south across the Ruvuma River into Mozambique.

The Makonde people also inhabit the Mueda Plateau, which lies immediately south of the Ruvuma River in Mozambique.

The Makonde Plateau is in the Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic ecoregion.