[1][2] There are large deposits of gold, tin and rare metals in the Upper Kolyma Highlands.

The area is relatively less desolate than other mountainous zones of Northeastern Siberia, such as the Yukaghir Highlands or the Nera Plateau.

However, some of the mining operations were deemed unprofitable following the collapse of the USSR and certain settlements of the Susumansky District lost population.

To the northwest lies the Nera Plateau and in the north the highlands merge with the southernmost chains of the Chersky Range.

[5] The valleys of the rivers and their slopes are overgrown with sparse forests of Siberian larch and dwarf cedar.