It was largely in the valleys of the Lycus and the Iris that the economic life of interior Pontus was concentrated.
The plains through which these rivers flow, rising "like terraces one above another," enjoy the advantages of a mild climate and a fertile soil and so produced rich harvests of grain and fruit; and through them led the highways that connected this remote portion of Asia Minor with the East and West.
It runs east-west for about 60 kilometres (37 mi), along the Kelkit River (ancient Lykos) in a valley created by the North Anatolian Fault.
The Yeşilırmak (ancient Iris) runs along its western edge and is joined by the Kelkit in the northwest corner of the plain.
In the 20th century, it produced grain, fruit, vegetables, tobacco, rice, and opium poppy.