This province, containing thousands of square kilometres of rainforest, is the largest and most sparsely populated and much less developed than the rest of the country.

The province spans part of the centre to the northeast of Gabon, covering an area of 46,075 square kilometres (17,790 sq mi).

In the southwest is Ivindo National Park,[9] established in 2002,[10] which contains the Koungou, Mingouli and Djidji waterfalls.

Lopé National Park, also in the southwest of the province, covering an area of 5,360 square kilometres (2,070 sq mi), lies to the north of the Chaillu Mountains and east of the Mingoué River.

The Station D'Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzes, co-managed by the CIRMF and CWS, is a monitoring facility at Lopé.

In the eastern part of the province is Mwagna National Park, which contains dense rainforest and is virtually uninhabited by humans but is biologically rich.