Heden is an extensive tundra area that slopes down to the Greenland Sea. The Site is crossed by several rivers, some of which feature deep canyons. Numerous shallow lakes and ponds can be found within the Site, which also contains wet heathland and meadows. It hosts significant numbers of moulting barnacle geese, as well as moulting and breeding pink-footed geese. The snowy owl, a globally vulnerable species, can also be found breeding in the Site, among other species. Subsistence hunting, mainly of muskoxen, is practiced. The area was the subject of intensive oil exploration in the 1980s and 1990s, but remained unexploited until more recently. As of 2011, plans were being developed for further oil exploitation, and as of 2017, further surveys and exploration were ongoing.