While there are low canopy woodlands in the northeast of the ecorgegion, most of the territory is desert or xeric (dry) scrubland.

[1][2][3][4] The ecoregion stretches for 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) across northern Afghanistan, from the city of Herat in the west to the Wakhan Corridor in the east.

The territory is on the north slopes of the mountains of central Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush.

Another 8% is cultivated in crop agriculture (mostly along river valleys), and another 8% is sparse vegetation or bare ground.

There are areas of woodland in the northeast of the ecoregion in Badakhshan Province, featuring wild almond, pistachio, willow, and buckthorn trees.