Theme Five: REGION

The unique perspective of Geography is the importance it gives to patterns of location or occurrence, also referred to as distribution. The identification of the distribution of some element, either physical or cultural, upon a particular portion of the landscape gives rise to the concept of region.

A region will contain aspects of all the four previously discussed Themes, i.e., Location, Place, Interaction, and Movement.

Formal Region:

Also called uniform regions, these define a place where there is homogeneity or sameness in terms of some element. For example, the area of the central U.S. where corn is the dominant crop is termed the Corn Belt Region. Likewise, the portion of Los Angeles where Spanish is the dominant language of choice and usage is a formal region.

Formal regions are said to have internal cohesion, but only in terms of the criterion being examined, dominant vegetation, most important occupation, ethnicity, political party, etc...

Functional Region:

These are defined in terms of a selected activity as it connects or interacts with a central node. Most nodes are urban and the region is defined as the hinterland or service area surrounding it. Some functional regions are political in nature, examples include states, counties, school districts, etc.

Vernacular Region:

These are defined in terms of people=s perceptions of places. As such, the criteria used to identify such a region can be numerous and highly diverse. Think of traditional vernacular regions in the U.S.: The South, New England, the Midwest.

Vernacular are the least useful regions in terms of any serious analysis of the fundamental question, AWhy There?@