REGION: Making Sense of Diversity

1. REGION: Making Senseof Diversity Chapter 5

2. A World of Region • Canal Zone is an area of Panama under the control of the Unite States since 1903 • Americans built the Panama Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans • Largest engineering project in the world • American troops stationed there to protect their country’s investment • President Carter returned control of the Canal Zone to Panama at the end of 1999

3. What is a Region? • Region is an area of the Earth’s surface with its own unique characteristics • Canal Zone was a region • Combines all five themes of geography • Two places in Panama – Colon and Balboa joined by the canal • Movement of people and products occur daily

4. What is a Region? (cont.) • The canal increases interaction between countries as it reduces travel time • Physical environment changed to build canal – whole mountains removed • Region – with its own political boundries

5. Organizing The World into Regions • Geographers use regions to organize information about the Earth’s surface • Regions help geographers to understand the Earth (the way we organize our computers with files and folders) • World is a big place with great diversity

6. Large and Small Regions • Regions can be organized in different ways • Large or small • To examine a large region • Use small scale map • Map shows a small amount of detail • Eg. Figure 5-2 pg. 66 small scale map because it shows a large region (all of Italy) in very little detail

7. Large and Small Regions (cont.) • To understand detailed interaction in small region • Use large scale map • Shows a large amount of detail • E.g. Figure 5 – 3 pg. 67 a large scale map because it shows a very small region with Italy (Vatican City) in great detail

8. World’s Smallest Country • Vatican City • Can fit in our neighbourhood • Area of less than 0.5 square kilometers • Surrounded by Italian city of Rome • Own legal system and post office • Largest church St. Peter’s Basilica • Vatican’s museums and art galleries contain famous works by Renaissance artists • Michelangelo’s painting of Sistine Chapel is found there

9. Single Factor Regions • Regions that are based on only one factor are called single-factor regions • Use only one factor to identify a region • political boundaries • Outlines the area under the control of a government e.g. Canada • Larger countries with large population usually divide into smaller political regions (provinces, territories, and states)

10. Single Factor Regions (cont.) • Landforms • Identified by a common landform • E.g continuous mountain along the Pacific coast of North America (Western Cordillera) • Plains are flat low lying areas that also form patterns • Large region called the Interior Plains, extend across the length and width of North America – east of Cordillera

11. Multi-Factor Regions • An area that is identified by more than one characteristic is called a multi factor region • Two examples of multi factor regions • Urban regions • Ecozones

12. Urban Region • Urban – an area where at least 1000 people live close together • 80% Canadians live in urban regions • Very large population centres • Multi-factor region • Ottawa • Based on many factors (political boundaries, population, industry, and transportation) • People live in suburbs and work downtown

13. Urban Regions (cont.) • Problems caused by large urban regions due to • No single political government • Difficult to coordinate important public services • To solve • Extend Ottawa’s boundaries • Might help organize public services

14. Ecozone Regions • A region based on several environmental factors • Landform • Climate • Natural vegetation • Soil condition • Important because they help plan new national parks • Difficult to draw boundary lines for multi factor region • Boundaries on map are imaginary lines • Near the end of one and beginning of another they blend (mix together)

15. Ecozone Region (cont.) • Canadian ecozones • Northern Arctic • Boreal Shield • Both contain different communities of plants and animals