It is named after the region of Swabia.
The Swabian Alb occupies the region bounded by the Danube in the southeast and the upper Neckar in the northwest. The highest mountain of the Swabian Alb is the Lemberg, 1015m.
The Alb's profile resembles a high plateau, which slowly falls away to the southeast. The northwestern edge is a steep escarpment (called the Albtrauf or Albanstieg, rising up 400 m, covered with forests), while the top is flat or gently hilled.