The Shumen Plateau is the highest and most typical among the remnant plateaus in Northeastern Bulgaria. The highest point of the Shumen Plateau is the peak "Tarnov Tabiya" (501.9 m), located in the western part of the park, and the average altitude is 427 m. The relief is typically plateau-like. It includes an extensive slightly hilly ridge level (60.0 % of the park's area) and steep, in places with rock crowns, slopes of the plateau. The Shumen Plateau is a model for a regional karst geosystem, consisting of attractive surface and underground karst forms (caves). The surface karst forms - sinkholes, whirlpools, hollows, picturesque valley cuts resembling small canyons and inaccessible rock crowns are part of the unique natural features in the park. There are more than 30 caves. Some of them have been studied and explored. The "Biserna" and "Taynite Ponori" caves are among the 25 largest caves in the country.

The Shumen plateau is made of Mesozoic rocks, formed in marine conditions about 100 million years ago. The limestones are of the greatest importance. They build the hilly ridge. The limestone rock complex lies on a layer of sandstones, rich in marine fossil fauna (fossils). The base of the plateau is made of a thick marl slab. The soil cover is diverse. It includes soils of 4 types (shallow, leesivated, diluvial and anthropogenic), 13 subtypes and genera with a variety of varieties. The hydro-climatic conditions are temperate-continental.

There are no surface waters on the plateau. Underground waters predominate, giving rise to many karst springs at the foot of the plateau.