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INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

Explore the study of place and space, geographic realms, transition zones, and regions in this introductory overview to regional geography. Discover the concepts of spatial criteria, regions, physical settings, cultural geography, and political geography. Learn about state and nation distinctions, population distribution, and patterns of development.

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INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY E.J. PALKA

  2. OUTLINE • Geography: The discipline • Geographic Realms • Transition Zones • Regions • Physical Setting

  3. GEOGRAPHY • The study of place and space. The word,“spatial” is a purely Geographical concept. Does NOT refer to “outer space”. • Divided into: Physical & Human. Studies human activity, the natural environment, and the relationship between the two. • Studies the location and distribution of features on the Earth’s surface. Answers where and why • Why is Timbuktu where it is, and why did the settlement evolve on this site? (see handouts)

  4. GEOGRAPHIC REALMS Realms are based on Spatial Criteria • The largest geographic units into which the inhabited world can be divided • Based on both physical (natural) and human (cultural) criteria

  5. WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS • Geographic realms change over time. • Where geographic realms meet, transitionzones, not sharp boundaries, mark their contacts.

  6. TRANSITION ZONES • An area of spatial change where peripheries of two adjacent realms or regions join • Marked by a gradual shift (rather than a sharp break) in the characteristics that distinguish neighboring realms

  7. GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION CONCEPT OF SCALE The World Realms Regions

  8. REGION • Marked by a certain degree of homogeneity (sameness) in one or more phenomena. In other words, areas of similar characteristics. • Also called a uniform region or homogeneousregion Examples: Corn Belt Megalopolis

  9. REGIONS • Scientific devices that enable us to make spatial generalizations • Based on criteria we establish • Criteria can be: • Human (cultural) properties • Physical (natural) characteristics • or Both

  10. REGIONS • All regions have: • Area • Boundaries • Location

  11. THE PHYSICAL SETTING • Physical Geography • Alfred Wegner • Tectonic plates • Continental drift • Pacific Ring of fire

  12. CLIMATE • Hydrologic cycle • Precipitation patterns • Climate regions

  13. CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY • A wide-ranging and comprehensive field that studies spatial aspects of human cultures • Culture: Shared patterns of learned behavior • Components: Beliefs; Institutions; and Technology

  14. CULTURALLANDSCAPE • The composite of human imprints on the earth’s surface. • Carl Sauer’s definition: “the forms superimposed on the physical landscape by the activities of man”

  15. CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

  16. CULTURE HEARTH • The source areasfrom which radiated ideas, innovations, and ideologies that change the world beyond

  17. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY • A subfield within the human branch of geography • The study of the interaction of geographical area and political process • The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes

  18. STATE • A politically organizedterritory • Administered by a sovereign government • Recognizedby a significant portion of the international community. • A state must also contain: • a permanent resident population • an organized economy • a functioning internal circulationsystem

  19. NATION • Some examples of stateless nations: the Cherokee Nation, the Palestinians, the Kurds (see next slide). Must a nation be a place?

  20. KURDISH REGION THE KURDS

  21. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION • 4 major clusters 1) East Asia 2) South Asia 3) Europe 4) Eastern North America

  22. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT • Economic geography: Core areas vs. peripheries • Economic conditions (World Bank’s groupings)

  23. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT

  24. THE GEOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE

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