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Defining a Region: Connections, Relationships, & Location. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS. Represent great clusters of humankind or physical characteristics Change over time Do not have definite borders May differ based on point of view Vary in size Separated from other regions by transition zones.
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GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS • Represent great clusters of humankind or physical characteristics • Change over time • Do not have definite borders • May differ based on point of view • Vary in size • Separated from other regions by transition zones.
TRANSITION ZONES • Location: Edge of a region • An area of spatial change where peripheries of two adjacent regions join • Marked by a gradual shift (rather than a sharp break) in the characteristics that distinguish neighboring regions • Area of mixed characteristics; possible tension (cultural groups)
GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS What defines a region? Regions are based on Spatial Criteria • Location, location, location • Common Characteristics • Physical (natural) • Landforms, Climate, Vegetation, Biomes… • Human (cultural) • Language, Religion, Ethnicity, Population, Disease…
Dominated by one political power: North America: U.S. Middle America: Mexico South America: Brazil Russian Realm: Russia East Asia: China South Asia: India Southeast Asia: Indonesia Australian Realm: Australia No dominant State Europe Sub-Saharan Africa North Africa / Southwest Asia Oceania (Pacific Realm) Sub-classification of Regions
SUB-REGIONS • Classification of Regions based upon physical features or humancharacteristics or both. • All regions can be divided into sub-regions • Ex: United States’ Location: North American Region. • U.S. Sub-regions may include: • Northeast, Midwest, South, North … or… • Metropolitan and suburban areas …or… • Physical regions (Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes) • Texas example: Hill Country, Piney Woods, West Texas, The Valley, The Coast, East Texas, The Panhandle… • Region & Sub-region boundaries are based on criteria we establish.
FORMAL REGION • Marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena. Examples: Corn Belt Sun Belt Rust Belt Latin America Southwest Asia
FUNCTIONAL REGION • A region marked by its dynamic internal structure • A spatial system focused on a central core • A region formed by a set of places and their functional integration (Ex. River systems, Highways, Railroads systems, Communication systems, etc.) • Example: • Los Angeles Metropolitan Area • Mississippi River Watershed
Perceptual Region • A region that is marked by unique human ideas or perceptions. • Examples: • “The Orient” or the “Tropics” • The “South” v. the “North” • The “Middle East” v. “Southwest Asia” • “Central Texas” “Hill Country” • A region of the city or town: “Mid-Town” “Downtown”