Vernacular regions have what type of character

Some people might include all of the states that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War. Others might exclude Missouri or Oklahoma. Vernacular regions exist at a variety of scales. Vernacular regions are real in the sense that our perceptions are real, but their boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon. As geographers, we can divide the world into a number of different regions based upon formal criteria and functional interaction. However, there is a matter of perception, as well.

We might divide the world based on landmasses, since landmasses often share physical and cultural characteristics. Sometimes water connects people more than land, though. In the case of Europe, for example, the Mediterranean Sea historically provided economic and cultural links to the surrounding countries though we consider them to be three separate continents.

Do you have fewer regions united by only a couple characteristics, or more regions that share a great deal in common? These regions are largely vernacular, however. Why is Russia its own region? These transition zones are marked by gradual spatial change. Moscow, Russia, for example, is quite similar to other areas of Eastern Europe, though they are considered two different regions on the map.

The Arctic and Antarctic Circles mark the extremities southern and northern, respectively of the polar day twenty-four-hour sunlit day and the polar night twenty-four-hour sunless night. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year and below the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year.

Equinoxes , when the line of direct sunlight hits the equator and days and nights are of equal length, occur in the spring and fall on or around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or Time Zones. This is the same time under which many military operations, international radio broadcasts, and air traffic control systems operate worldwide. UTC is set in zero- to twenty-four-hour time periods, as opposed to two twelve-hour time periods a. The designations of a.

For example, all air flights use the twenty-four-hour time system so the pilots can coordinate flights across time zones and around the world. Time zones are established roughly every 15 degrees longitude so that local times correspond to similar hours of day and night. With this system, the sun is generally overhead at noon in every time zone that follows the degree-wide system. The continental United States has four main time zones see Table 1.

Table 1. Local time zones are either plus or minus determined by the distance from the prime meridian. In this diagram, 75 W is the central meridian for the eastern standard time zone in the United States.

For example, if it is noon in London, then it is 7 a. Since there are twenty-four hours in a day, there are twenty-four time zones on Earth. Each time zone is 15 degrees wide. A problem with the degree time zones is that the zones do not necessarily follow state, regional, or local boundaries. The result is that time zones are seldom exactly 15 degrees wide and usually have varied boundary lines. In the United States, the boundaries between the different time zones are inconsistent with the lines of longitude; in some cases, time zones zigzag to follow state lines or to keep cities within a single time zone.

Other countries address the problem differently. China, for example, is as large in land area as the United States yet operates on only one time zone for the entire country. A region is a basic unit of study in geography—a unit of space characterized by a feature such as a common government, language, political situation, or landform.

A region can be a formal country governed by political boundaries, such as France or Canada; a region can be defined by a landform, such as the drainage basin of all the water that flows into the Mississippi River; and a region can even be defined by the area served by a shopping mall. Cultural regions can be defined by similarities in human activities, traditions, or cultural attributes.

Geographers use the regional unit to map features of particular interest, and data can be compared between regions to help understand trends, identify patterns, or assist in explaining a particular phenomenon. Regions are traditionally defined by internal characteristics that provide a sense of place. Their boundaries vary with the type of region, whether it is formal, functional, or vernacular; each type has its own meaning and defined purpose.

A formal region has a governmental, administrative, or political boundary and can have political as well as geographic boundaries that are not open to dispute or debate.

Formal boundaries can separate states, provinces, or countries from one another. Physical regions can be included within formal boundaries, such as the Rocky Mountains or New England.

An official boundary, such as the boundary of a national park, can be considered a formal boundary. School districts, cities, and county governments have formal boundaries. Natural physical geographic features have a huge influence on where political boundaries of formal regions are set.

If you look at a world map, you will recognize that many political boundaries are natural features, such as rivers, mountain ranges, and large lakes. Alpine mountain ranges in Europe create borders, such as the boundary between Switzerland and Italy.

While geographic features can serve as convenient formal borders, political disputes will often flare up in adjacent areas, particularly if valuable natural or cultural resources are found within the geographic features. Oil drilling near the coast of a sovereign country, for example, can cause a dispute between countries about which one has dominion over the oil resources. The exploitation of offshore fisheries can also be disputed. A Neolithic mummy of a man who died in BCE caused tension between Italy and Switzerland: the body was originally taken to Innsbruck, Switzerland, but when it was determined that the body was found about 90 meters feet inside the border of Italy, Italian officials laid claim to the body.

Functional regions have boundaries related to a practical function within a given area. When the function of an area ends, the functional region ends and its boundaries cease to exist. For example, a functional region can be defined by a newspaper service or delivery area.

If the newspaper goes bankrupt, the functional region no longer exists. Church parishes, shopping malls, and business service areas are other examples of functional regions. They function to serve a region and may have established boundaries for limits of the area to which they will provide service. An example of a common service area—that is, a functional region—is the region to which a local pizza shop will deliver.

Vernacular regions can be fluid—that is, different people may have different opinions about the limits of the regions. Also, in the United States, the terms Midwest or South have many variations. Each individual might have a different idea about the location of the boundaries of the South or the Midwest. Whether the state of Kentucky belongs in the Midwest or in the South might be a matter of individual perception. Similarly, various regions of the United States have been referred to as the Rust Belt, Sun Belt, or Bible Belt without a clear definition of their boundaries.

The limit of a vernacular area is more a matter of perception than of any formally agreed-upon criteria. Nevertheless, most people would recognize the general area being discussed when using one of the vernacular terms in a conversation.

In comparing one formal political region with another, it is often helpful to use a familiar country, state, province, or political unit as a reference or guide. Wherever you are located, you can research the statistical data for a formal region familiar to you to provide a common reference. The US state of Kentucky is one example that can be used to compare formal political regions. Kentucky ranks close to the middle range of the fifty US states in terms of its population of 4.

Kentucky is also within the median range of the fifty states in overall physical area. Kentucky is not as large in physical area as the western states but is larger in physical area than many of the eastern states. Kentucky includes part of the rural peripheral region of Appalachia, but the state also has cosmopolitan core urban centers such as Lexington and Louisville.

Kentucky also borders the metropolitan city of Cincinnati. The rural peripheral regions of the state are home to agriculture and mining. The urban core areas are home to industry and service centers. Other US states could also be used as examples. The state of Kentucky can be used as a comparison guide for understanding other formal political regions around the world. World regional geography studies various world regions as they compare with the rest of the world.

Factors for comparison include both the physical and the cultural landscape. The main questions are, Who lives there?

What are their lives like? What do they do for a living? Physical factors of significance can include location, climate type, and terrain. Human factors include cultural traditions, ethnicity, language, religion, economics, and politics. Spatial studies can play an important role in regional geography. The scientific approach can focus on the distribution of cultural and natural phenomena within regions as delimited by various natural and cultural factors. The focus is on the spatial relationships within any field of study, such as regional economics, resource management, regional planning, and landscape ecology.

Again, this textbook takes a regional approach with a focus on themes that illustrate the globalization process, which in turn helps us better understand our global community.

The regions studied in world regional geography can be combined into larger portions called realms. Realms are large areas of the planet, usually with multiple regions, that share the same general geographic location. Regions are cohesive areas within each realm.

The following eleven realms are outlined in this text:. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Chapter 1: Introduction to the World. Search for:. Summarize the grid system of latitude and longitude and how it relates to seasons and time zones. Distinguish between the different types of regional distinctions recognized in geography. Understand the spatial nature of geography and how each place or region is examined, analyzed, and compared with other places or regions.

Determine the basic geographic realms and their locations. What Is Geography? The Earth and Graticule Location When identifying a region or location on the earth, the first step is to understand its relative and absolute locations.

Parallels or Lines of Latitude Figure 1. Meridians or Lines of Longitude The prime meridian sits at 0 degrees longitude and divides the earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Climate and Latitude The earth is tilted on its axis Regions in Geography A region is a basic unit of study in geography—a unit of space characterized by a feature such as a common government, language, political situation, or landform.

Using a State as a Comparison Guide In comparing one formal political region with another, it is often helpful to use a familiar country, state, province, or political unit as a reference or guide. World Regional Geography World regional geography studies various world regions as they compare with the rest of the world.

The discipline of geography bridges the social sciences with the physical sciences. The two main branches of geography include physical geography and human geography. GIS, GPS, and remote sensing are tools that geographers use to study the spatial nature of physical and human landscapes. There are twenty-four time zones that are set at degree intervals each and organize time intervals around the world.

The line of direct sunlight always hits the earth between A region is the basic unit of study in geography. Three main types of boundaries define a region: formal, functional, and vernacular. World regional geography is the study of a particular group of world regions or realms as each compares with the rest of the world.

Discussion and Study Questions How does the discipline of geography provide a bridge between the social sciences and the physical sciences? How does the cultural landscape assist in indicating the differences between a wealthy neighborhood and a poverty-stricken neighborhood?

How can remote sensing technology assist in determining what people do for a living?