The region covers and entirely surrounds the northwest-southeast oriented line of the Quantock Hills which form National Character Area 144. The Vale of Taunton runs from the foot of the steep northern scarp of the Blackdown Hills to the coast of the Bristol Channel. In the west it extends between the Quantock Hills and the Brendon Hills on the eastern edge of Exmoor and, to the east, between the Quantock Hills and the Somerset Levels and Moors. Much of the region is verdant and pastoral, transitioning to steep, moorland-topped hills in the west and open clay levels in the east.