Pohorje is an Alpine mountain ridge with domed summits south of the Drava. It roughly lies in the triangle formed by the towns of Maribor (to the east), Dravograd (to the west) and Slovenske Konjice (to the south). To the northwest, it is bounded by the Mislinja River, to the south by the Vitanje Lowlands (), to the east it descends to the Drava Plain () and to the southeast it descends to the Pohorje Foothills (). It measures about from east to west and from north to south and covers an area of ca. . Its highest elevations are Black Peak (, ) , the only slightly lower Big Kopa Peak (), and Lake Peak (), which rises to . Forests cover over 70% of its surface.