GEOGRAPHIC REGION: EXAMPLES AND TYPES - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

A geographic region is an area of ​​land that has common characteristics and that can be defined by natural or artificial attributes. Language, government, or religion can define a region, as can forests, wildlife, or climate.

In itself, a geographic region is defined as a part of the Earth's surface with one or many similar characteristics that make it unique from other areas. For example, it can be said that Latin America is an example of a wide geographic region, with a preponderant language, and certain common traditions and customs.

Regional geography studies the specific characteristics of places related to their culture, economy, topography, climate, politics and environmental factors such as their different species of flora and fauna.

Examples of geographic regions

middle East

The Middle East lies between Europe, Africa and Asia

Regions, large or small, are the basic units of geography. The Middle East is considered a political, environmental, and religious region that includes parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

This region is in a hot and dry climate. Although the styles of government are varied (democracy in Israel and Syria, monarchy in Saudi Arabia), almost all have strong ties to religion.

Amazon region

The Amazon River region in South America is the area surrounding the Amazon River, which runs through the northern part of the continent, including Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.

This region is characterized by warm temperatures, heavy rains, a great diversity of plant and animal species, and has little human impact on the environment.

Sub-saharan africa

These are often called transition zones that represent the start and end of a specific region and can be large or small.

For example, the transition zone between Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa is quite large because there is a mix between the two regions.

Regional geographers study this area, as well as the distinct features of sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.

Types

An area of ​​the planet that is made up of places with a unifying feature is a region, one of the five themes of geography. There are several types of geographic regions:

Formal region

A region is defined by its uniform physical or human characteristics. A region whose boundaries are formally defined is known as a formal region.

For example, metropolitan cities, districts, provinces, countries, and continents can be viewed as a formal region unified by a common political entity.

Functional region

A functional region usually encompasses a central point with defined boundaries and the area around it that is connected through a well-developed network of transportation and communication systems that facilitates the movement of people, goods, and ideas within that system.

A large metropolitan city including its suburbs such as New York City in the United States, Mumbai in India, Tokyo in Japan, or Beijing in China, can be considered as functional regions.

Vernacular region

The third type of region is the vernacular region. When they are closely situated in the world they have unifying characteristics, we tend to imagine these places united by an "imaginary border."

Thus, although physical maps do not formally define the boundaries of such regions, we tend to create "mind maps" of such regions.

For example, we often group the countries of the Arabian Peninsula as the "Middle East region," although such a region is never mentioned on physical maps of the world.

How are geographic regions studied today?

Sahara desert

Since the 1980s, regional geography has seen a resurgence as a branch of geography in many universities.

Because geographers today often study a wide variety of topics, it is helpful to divide the world into regions to facilitate information for processing and display.

This can be done by geographers who claim to be regional geographers and are experts in one or many places around the world, or by physical, cultural, and urban people who have a lot of information to process on certain topics.

Often many universities today offer specific regional geography courses that give an overview of the subject and others may offer courses related to specific world regions such as Europe, Asia and the Middle East, or on a smaller scale such as "The Geography of California."

In each of these region-specific courses, the topics often covered are the physical and climatic attributes of the region, as well as the cultural, economic, and political characteristics found there.

Also, some universities today offer specific degrees in regional geography, which usually consists of a general knowledge of the regions of the world.

A degree in regional geography is useful for those who want to teach, but it is also valuable in today's business world that focuses on overseas and long-distance communications and networks.

Geographic regions of antiquity

World map (1689, Amsterdam)

Geographers also use geographic regions to study prehistoric environments that no longer exist.

Due to plate tectonics, or the movement of the earth's crust, geographic regions are constantly being created and destroyed over time. Paleogeography is the study of these ancient environments.

One paleogeographic region is Pangea, the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago, during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. The continents we know today are separated from the supercontinent of Pangea.

Although people have been studying specific regions for decades, regional geography as a branch in geography has its roots in Europe, specifically with the French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blanche.

At the end of the 19th century, de la Blanche developed his ideas about the medium, payment, and possibility. The environment was the natural environment and the country was the local region.

Possibilism was the theory that said that the environment establishes restrictions and / or limitations on human beings, but human actions in response to these limitations is what develops a culture and in this case helps define a geographic region.

Possibilities later led to the development of environmental determinism which says that the environment (and therefore geographical regions) is solely responsible for the development of human culture and social development.

References

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2. National Geographic editorial team. (2017). "Region". Recovered from nationalgeographic.org.
3. Editorial team of The Free Dictionary. (2017). "Geographic Region". Recovered from thefreedictionary.com.
4. Vocabulary editor team. (2017). "Geographical region". Recovered from vocabulary.com.
5. Statistcs Canada Editorial Team. (2015). "Geographical region of Canada". Recovered from statcan.gc.ca.
6. Meinig, D. (1986). "The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History", Volume 1: Atlantic America, 1492-1800. New Haven: Yale University Press.
7. Moinuddin, S. (2017) "Mediascape and the State: A Geographical Interpretation of Image Politics in Uttar Pradesh, India". Netherland Publishing House. Chapter 1.