The region of Kielce, the northern part of Little Poland, is situated between the rivers Vistula and Pilica. Because of the landform features, it can be divided into the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, which are the culmination of the Kielce-Sandomierz Upland, in the north, and the southern part – the Nida Basin.

Świętokrzyskie Mountains are a number of latitudinally stretching ranges. The most important are:
Łysogóry – the central range with the highest hills: Łysica (612 m asl.) and Łysa Góra (595 m asl); Jeleniowskie – the highest hill is Szczytniak (552 m asl); Klonowskie – Bukowa Góra (483.6 m asl); Masłowskie – Klonówka (472.6 m asl); Tumlińskie – Góra Wykieńska (400.7 m asl), Oblęgorskie – Góra Sieniewska (448.8 m asl); and the ranges: Dobrzeszowskie, Orłowińskie, Cisowskie, Ociesęckie.
The central part of the Nida Basin is the wide valley of the Nida, delimited by the Solec Basin and Szaniec Plateau in the east, and by Jędrzejów Plateau and Miechów Upland in the west.

The main rivers in the region are the Nida (151 km), with its tributaries: Łośna, Bobrza and Mierzawa, and the Kamienna (138 km).

Kielce, the biggest town in the northern Little Poland, is the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Province. Its characteristic feature is the substantial difference of ground levels – from 260 to 400 m asl. Within the boundaries of Kielce, there is a greater variety of geological formations than in any other European city. There are five nature reserves in Kielce: Ślichowice, Kadzielnia, Wietrznia, Biesak (inanimate nature) and Karczówka (a landscape reserve). Near the northern border of Kielce is a semi-reserve Sufraganiec.