Download Introduction to World Regional Geography

GEOG 101 – World Regional Geography
Professor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Introduction to World Regional Geography
A – Realms and Regions
B – Physical Setting
C – Cultures and Population
D – States
E – Development
A Realms and Regions
■ Geography
• From the Greek “Geo” (the world) and “Graphos” (to write about
or to describe).
• Studies the location and distribution of features on the Earth’s
surface.
• Features:
• Human activities.
• Natural environment.
• The relationship between the two.
• Answers where and why.
A Realms and Regions
■ Classification Systems
• Many sciences establish a taxonomy (classification) of the
elements investigated.
• Biologists, chemists, geologists, historians, astrophysicists,
epidemiologists, etc.
• Geography does the same:
• Tries to find a commonality to a certain area.
• Often a matter of scale.
• The smaller the scale the less likely the commonality.
Realms and Regions
■ Realm
• The largest geographic units into which the inhabited world can
be divided.
• Based on both physical (natural) and human (cultural) characteristics.
• The smallest scale of commonality.
• The result of the interaction between human societies and
natural environments:
• A functional interaction.
• Represent the most comprehensive and encompassing definition
of the great clusters of humankind.
• Geographic realms change over time:
• Russia (disintegration of the former Soviet Union).
• European integration.
Realms of the World
Realms and Regions
■ Transition zones
• Where geographic realms meet.
• 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.
Transition Zones
Realms and Regions
■ Regions
• Areas of the earth’s surface marked by certain properties.
• Based on an established criteria:
• Human (cultural) properties
• Physical (natural) characteristics
• All regions have:
• Area
• Boundaries
• Location
■ Formal region
• Marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more
phenomena.
• Also called a uniform region or homogeneous region.
A Regional Framework of the United States
Realms and Regions
■ Functional region
• A region marked less by its sameness than its dynamic internal
structure.
• A spatial system focused on a central core.
• A region formed by a set of places and their functional
integration.
• Also called a “nodal” region.
Los Angeles Nodal Region
B Physical Setting
■ Physical Geography
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The study of physical processes in space.
Continental drift / Tectonic plates / Subduction.
Pacific Ring of fire.
Weathering:
• Decay and breakup of rocks on the earth's surface by natural chemical
and mechanical processes.
• Erosion:
• The wearing away of land or soil by the action of wind, water, or ice.
Tectonic Plates
World Seismic and Volcanic Activity
C Cultures and Population
■ Culture
• Shared patterns of learned behavior.
• Components:
• Beliefs.
• Institutions.
• Technology.
■ Cultural geography
• Spatial aspects of human cultures.
• Major components focus on:
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Cultural Landscapes.
Culture Hearths.
Cultural Diffusion.
Cultural Environments.
Cultural Regions.
Cultures and Population
■ Cultural landscape
• The composite of human imprints on the earth’s surface.
• Take many shapes:
• Agricultural tenure.
• Organization of cities.
• Architecture.
■ Cultural hearths
• The source areas from which radiated ideas, innovations, and
ideologies that changed the world beyond.
■ Cultural diffusion
• Process during which a culture / religion spread to new areas.
Core Cultural Hearths of Humanity
Diffusion of Major Religions in Pacific Asia
Hinduism (4,000 B.C.)
Buddhism (563 B.C.)
Shinto
Traditional Chinese
Islam (571 A.D.)
Christianity (1510 A.D.)
Christian presence
Cultures and Population
■ Population distribution
• Linked with agricultural potential.
• 4 major clusters:
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1) East Asia
2) South Asia
3) Europe
4) Eastern North America
World Population
D States
■ Political geography
• The study of the interaction of geographical area and political
processes.
• The spatial analysis of political phenomena (e.g. voting) and
processes.
■ State
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A politically organized territory.
Administered by a sovereign government.
Recognized by the international community.
A state must also contain:
• A permanent resident population.
• An organized economy.
• A functioning internal circulation system.
States
■ Nation
• All the citizens of a state (legal definition).
• Group of people with a strong linguistic, ethnic, religious and
cultural commonality.
■ Nation-state
• A country whose population possesses a substantial degree of
cultural homogeneity and unity.
• Japan, most of Europe.
E
Development
■ Economic geography
• The study of economic activities in space.
• Particularly concerned about production and consumption.
■ Economic conditions
• Significant variations in income.
• Developed and developing countries.
• From low to high-Income.
■ Globalization
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A complex and highly dynamic process.
New industrial regions.
New markets.
Global products.
Three main poles of the global economy.
Poles of the Global Economy
Western Europe
North America
East Asia
Economies
Underdeveloped
Developing
Newly Industrializing
Advanced
Oil Export / Rent