The Northern Lincolnshire Edge with Coversands runs north from Lincoln to the Humber Estuary. The Coversands, near Scunthorpe, are post-glacial windblown sands which have given rise to mosaics of heathland, acid grassland and oak/birch woodland and support rare plant and animal communities. Many of the acid and calcareous grasslands, and woodland remaining within the Northern Lincolnshire Edge where Coversands are small and isolated from each other.

The NCA is characterised by large fields and tightly clipped hedges. To the north, there is a higher concentration of woodland, including ancient woodland, particularly on the sandy soils east of Scunthorpe and on the scarp slopes in the west, where mixed farming on the lower-lying land becomes more common. On the lower dip slope to the  east, the land has been drained with farmland bounded by ditches.

The Edge forms a watershed between the major catchments of the Rivers Trent and Ancholme, both flowing to the Humber and the Witham, which flows into The Wash.

The area to the south of the NCA contains limestone becks including Nettleham and Welton that are important tributaries of the Barlings Eau.

The NCA has large industrial areas, including the Scunthorpe Steelworks, which have allowed for the creation of large swathes of quality habitats.