Regions of the world

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Regions of the world

• An overview

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What defines a region?

• Regions are areas defined by specific factors,
  like vegetation, river systems, and climate,
  which are physical factors.
• Regions may also be defined by language,
  religion, cultural traditions, forms of
  government, and trade networks , which are human
  factors.

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Three types of regions

• Formal regions-
• Functional regions-
• Perceptual regions-

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Formal Regions (Uniform)

• Def. everyone shares in common 1 or more
  distinctive characteristics
• Can be identified by both physical and cultural
  features
• Examples
• 90 French speaking region
• Andes Mountain Region
• United States
• Wheat Belt

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Functional Region (Nodal)

• Def. area organized around a node or focal point
• Product of interactions, or movements of various
  kinds
• Defined as a spatial system
• Its boundaries are defined by the limits of that
  system
• Example
• San Antonio Metropolitan Region
• WiFi Region

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Perceptual Regions (Vernacular)

• Region primarily in the minds of the people
• Mental maps used to create these regions
• Internal representation of a portion of the Earth
• Examples
• South
• The NE
• The Middle East

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What are the different regions around the globe?

• USA Canada
• Latin America
• Europe
• Russia
• North Africa-Southwest Asia-Central Asia
• Africa South of the Sahara
• South Asia

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Regions continued

• East Asia
• South East Asia
• Australia- Oceania- Antarctica

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The USA and Canada

• Cover most of North America
• Have the world oldest unarmed border
• Share many landforms and vegetation, such as the
  Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains.
• Population over 331 million
• Major Languages English, French, and Spanish

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Latin America

• Is Mexico, Central America, South America, and
  the Caribbean Islands.
• Population 525 million.
• Covers 85 degrees of Latitude
• A collision of cultures, mixing Native American,
  European, and African traditions to influence
  music, art, food, and religion.
• Inca, Aztec, and Maya cultures once flourished in
  Latin America.
• The longest river in the Western Hemisphere is
  the Amazon River.

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Latin America

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Europe

• 43 nations create this region.
• Most people live within 300 mile of a major body
  of water.
• Population 583 million
• The exploration of Western European nations in
  the late 1400s gave Europe an advantage of
  colonizing the Western Hemisphere.

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Europe

• Today Europe
• is working on
• uniting the many
• nations into the
• European Union.

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Russia

• The worlds largest country.
• The Ural Mountains are the natural boundary
  between Europe and Russia.
• Has vast natural resources, such as oil and
  natural gas.
• Population 144.4 million

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Russia continued

• After the communist government of the Soviet
  Union collapsed in 1991, the Russian people have
  struggled with gaining economic strength.
• Despite these difficulties Russians today enjoy
  many more liberties than in the past.

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North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia

• Home to the Nile Riverthe longest river in the
  world.
• Also has the largest desert in the World the
  Sahara. Which has the highest Temp. ever recorded
  in the world136 degrees F.
• Region has seen the rise of Great civilizations,
  such as the Egyptians, Sumerians, Persians, and
  Phoenicians.
• As well as the birth of three major religions
  Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

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North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia

• The most important resource in the area is
  petroleum. To better control oil as an economic
  advantage, eight countries in this region have
  formed OPEC Organization for Petroleum Exporting
  Countries.

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Africa South of the Sahara

• Population673 million
• Rich in mineral
• resources fossil
• fuels, ores and gems.
• Fossils found in Eastern Africa point to this
  region as the home of our earliest ancestors.
• Area has an abundance in plant and animal life,
  which have given rise to poaching- illegal
  hunting.

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Africa South of the Sahara

• Africa has struggled to regain economic stability
  for African citizens.
• Many Africans struggle for basic healthcare,
  employment, and educational needs.

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South Asia

• Population over 1.3 billion people, one-fifth of
  the worlds population.
• This area has many different religions Hinduism,
  Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
• tea, curries, spices, and the practice of yoga
  have become popular around the world.

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South Asia

• Feeding the enormous population of this area has
  been met through scientific advances of farming
  and food production.

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East Asia

• Population 1.5 billion people about 25 of world
  population.
• Largest country is China.
• Volcanic activity in the Ring of Fire created the
  islands of Japan and Taiwan.
• Created great civilizations, such as the Shang,
  Zhou, and the Ming Dynasties.
• Great Wall of China was built in 200s B.C. to
  keep out foreign invaders.

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East Asia

• Areas are suffering from rapid population growth,
  which lead to air, soil and water pollution.

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South East Asia

• An area full of peninsulas and archipelagos.
• Most SE Asian islands are covered in Rain
  forests.
• This area is also home to the Komodo dragon the
  worlds largest lizard.
• About 520 million people live in SE Asia.

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South East Asia

• Rice farming is the most important agricultural
  activity.
• Economic prosperity of the region has hurt the
  environment. In Thailand only 25 of its
  original forests still remain.

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Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica

• Australia is the smallest continent.
• Two of the Seven Wonders of the WorldUluru
  (Ayers Rock), and The Great Barrier Reef.
• Australia receives less precipitation than any
  other continent excluding Antarctica.
• Antarctica has the highest elevation, of any
  continent helping to make it the coldest.

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Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica

• During World War II western nations tested
  nuclear weapons on islands in Oceania.

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