The highest elevation in Leon County is 288 feet, found in the northern part of the county, about mile to the southwest of Lake McBride. To the south of the city the hills yield to the flat terrain that is typical throughout the peninsula of Florida. The northern portion of the county consists of a thick layer of sand, silt, and clay overlying limestone formations, while most of the southern area is characterized by flat, sandy lowlands. The marketable natural resources of Leon County are not numerous, but the few that are present are plentiful. Limestone, a necessary ingredient for the production of concrete, is found throughout the northwestern portion of Florida.
Kaolin clay exists in considerable amounts and has proven to be a valuable resource.
The abundance of trees and timber is a resource uncommon to many other areas of the state. The beauty of the local trees is exemplified in Maclay Gardens State Park which is the site of several of Florida's champion trees including the flowering Dogwood, the Hawthorn tree, the Horsesugar tree, the Sweetbay Magnolia, and the Silverbell tree. These trees and others, including the great Live Oak, often extend their branches over the roadway to create a canopied effect, a feature which is held in high esteem by local residents and visitors. Leon County possesses excellent wildlife reserves located in the hilly terrain north of Tallahassee and in the Apalachicola National Forest to the south. The hunter can take his pick of quail, turkey, duck, geese, squirrel and whitetail deer.