Regions

|Formal, Functional, and Perceptual|

•What do regions have in common?

•How are they different?

We often use the criteria of economic, cultural, physical and political (human-made borders) characteristics to define regions as well as the terms formal, functional and perceptual. Read the explanation provide by National Geographic of how we organize the Earth’s surface area into what we call “regions”.

A formal region is one with a set number of related and uniform characteristics. It sometimes involves common human characteristics as n culture or a common land, vegetation, etc. form. Examples: political formal regions like counties, cities, and states or physical regions like the Amazon rainforest, the Everglades, the Scottish Highlands, etc.

A functional region is defined by its function and purpose usually with a central point and support around it. Examples: a city (function is provide a work place) surrounded by suburbs (function is providing place for residences/homes, factory area with supporting industries and residences surrounding it.

Perception of certain characteristics can also define a region. This means that different people can have different views and perceptions of what a region may be and what characteristics it may have. It often involves individual mental maps of the region with different borders depending upon the individual’s perception. Examples would be “the South” in the U.S. and the Middle East.

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Tasks:

Task 14- Your Travels: Write a blog post where you look back at your travels to a very distinct region that sticks out in your mind. Was it a formal, functional or perceptual region? Describe how it fits into one of these categories. What were economic, cultural, and physical characteristics of the region? Next, go to the Web to find a map that includes this region. Look for man-made and natural borders. Use a paint program to draw in what you feel the borders should be. Insert this image into your post. Remember to cite your images.

Task 15- Download the 5 Themes of Geography Review document (see attachment below) to reflect about your learning from this learning pursuit. Follow the directions listed there.

Note: All images are originals taken by the author of this site.