The ecoregion is centered on the Yablonoi Mountains, a range that reaches heights of , and runs southwest to northeast, parallel to Lake Baikal. The western edge of the region is the eastern shore of Lake Baikal and the Barguzin mountain range. The city of Chita is at the northeast of the region, and the city of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is just outside the southern point of the region. To the south are the Khentii Mountains in Mongolia. To the east are the temperate grasslands of the Daurian forest steppe ecoregion. To the north is the Vitim tableland.