Bangalore lies in the southeast of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger Precambrian Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 920 m (3,018 feet). It is positioned at 12.97° N 77.56° E and covers an area of 741 km² (286 mi²). The majority of the city of Bangalore lies in the Bangalore Urban district of Karnataka and the surrounding rural areas are a part of the Bangalore Rural district. The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new district of Ramanagaram from the old Bangalore Rural district.

The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central ridge running NNE-SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge. No major rivers run through the city, though the Arkavathi and South Pennar cross paths at the Nandi Hills, 60 km (37 mi.) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi, a minor tributary of the Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi and flows through the city. The rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi together carry much of Bangalore’s sewage. A sewerage system, constructed in 1922, covers 215 km² (133 mi²) of the city and connects with five sewage treatment centers located in the periphery of Bangalore.

In the 16th century, Kempe Gowda I constructed many lakes to meet the town’s water requirements. The Kempambudhi Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent among those lakes. In the earlier half of 20th century, the Nandi Hills waterworks was commissioned by Sir Mirza Ismail (Diwan of Mysore, 1926–41 CE) to provide a water supply to the city. Currently, the river Kaveri provides around 80% of the total water supply to the city with the remaining 20% being obtained from the Thippagondanahalli and Hesaraghatta reservoirs of the Arkavathi River. Bangalore receives 800 million litres (211 million US gallons) of water a day, more than any other Indian city. However, Bangalore sometimes does face water shortages, especially during the summer season in the years of low rainfall.

A random sampling study of the Air Quality Index (AQI) of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration.[23] Bangalore has a handful of freshwater lakes and water tanks, the largest of which are Madivala tank, Hebbal lake, Ulsoor lake and Sankey Tank. Groundwater occurs in silty to sandy layers of the alluvial sediments.

The Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and includes granites, gneisses and migmatites, while the soils of Bangalore consist of red laterite and red, fine loamy to clayey soils. Vegetation in the city is primarily in the form of large deciduous canopy and minority coconut trees. Though Bangalore has been classified as a part of the seismic zone II (a stable zone), it has experienced quakes of magnitude as high as 4.5.