Bashan was located mainly on a high plateau, with an average height of about 600 m (2,000 ft). The land is generally flat, though containing some mountain ridges, and is of volcanic origin with much hard black basalt rock, which provides good retention of moisture. The soil is a mixture of tufa and red-brown earth. Water and melted snow flowing down from Mount Hermon helped to turn the entire region into an excellent agricultural area. The great fertility of this plain made the area a rich granary and provided fine pasture lands. This, in turn, contributed to the production of splendid strains of cattle and sheep. The bulls of Bashan and its male sheep were the subjects of song and poetry and were symbols of richness, strength, and prosperity.​—De 32:14; Eze 39:18; Ps 22:12.

Bashan’s fertility and productivity are doubtless the reason for its being associated with other productive areas such as Carmel and Lebanon. (Jer 50:19; Isa 33:9)

In the area E of the Jordan, the principal route from N to S, called “the king’s road,” ran through Bashan at the city of Ashtaroth, and this fact, together with Bashan’s great fertility and its proximity to Damascus, made it the goal of military conquest. King Hazael of Damascus captured Bashan during Jehu’s reign (c. 904-877 B.C.E.),