It lies between the Wiehen Hills to the north, the Teutoburg Forest to the south, the state border with Lower Saxony to the west and the large bend in the River Weser and the boundary of Lippe district to the east.
The most important towns are Bielefeld (northern and central quarters), Herford, Bad Oeynhausen and Bünde.
The area is characterised by long-standing, intensive farming in its loess, hill country, a wide range of industry and a high population density.
Until into the 20th century, its people were purely of the Evangelical-Lutheran faith and had a common dialect known as Ravensberger Platt.
It is often not understood that these three terms are used in different contexts and the areas they relate to, despite significant overlap, are not identical.