[2] The hills are in a semi-arid region known as Palliser's Triangle in the Great Plains ecoregion of North America.

[3] The south-eastern part of the Wood Mountain Hills was one of the few places in Canada that wasn't covered in ice during the Last Glacial Period.

The highest point of the upland at 1,013 metres above sea level is Pinto Butte,[5] which is located at the western end and straddles the watershed divide.

Most of the watershed to the north of the hills is in the Old Wives Lake endorheic drainage basin with Wood River and its tributaries being the primary water course.

In areas with more moisture, such as at the bottom of coulees and alongside streams, trees and shrubs, such as aspen, green ash, wolf willow, and buffalo berry, grow.