This section focuses on major regions of the world, nations, or states, and their geographic differences and similarities. The material presented is designed to help you meet the following objective.
- Compare and contrast major regions of the world, nation, or state.
Geographers divide the world into regions in order to organize facts and ideas about people, cultures, and environments. These divisions may serve different purposes for various professionals such as cartographers, policy makers, or environmental scientists. Regions may be identified by cultural components such as major religions, types of government, or language groups. Other types of regions are identified by physical factors such as natural resources or topography.
Regions can be defined as formal, functional, or perceptual. A formal region may be characterized by human-centered properties, such as a common language or a common political system, or by physical properties, such as a particular landform or vegetation. A nation is a formal region; it is a particular political entity and may have a common language. The Great Plains region is an example of a landform region; it too is considered a formal region. Functional regions are organized around a focal point; the metropolitan area of New York City is an example. Perceptual regions reflect people's feelings about certain areas; in the United States, southern California and the South each have a certain image. They are perceptual regions.
Probably the best-known division of the world into regions is that of global hemispheres. The equator divides the Earth at zero degrees latitude into the northern and southern hemispheres, and the Prime Meridian divides the globe at zero degrees longitude into eastern and western hemispheres.
Please click on the link below for a map and a more detailed explanation of Earth's hemispheres.
