The Durnigan Highlands form the elevated center of Taulo Magi, a broad upland of grassland and rocky outcrops rising above the surrounding tropical lowlands. At altitude, the humidity of the lowland forests gives way to cooler, drier air, and the seasonal rains arrive in shorter, heavier bursts than along the River Gorn below.
The highlands are largely uncultivated — thin highland soil does not favor the crops grown in the lowland margins — but they support extensive cattle grazing. Herders from Taulo Magi drive stock up onto the Durnigan plateau during the dry season when lowland grass is scarce. The open plateau makes it easy to lose animals to predators, and the communities who work it have developed cooperative herding arrangements across family lines over generations.