In the northwest, the egoregion begins at the east edge of the Pamir Mountains, then covers the Kunlun Mountains in the north and the high plateau south to the Karakoram Mountains. From there it follows the Kunlun from west to east across the northern edge of the Tibet Plateau, on the south rim of the arid Tarim Basin. Elevations, higher in the northwest, are mostly above 5,000 meters, and the soils are often salty and barren. The region is dry, cold, and very remote. Permafrost lies under much of the territory. Much of the eastern extension is within the Altun Shan National Nature Reserve.