# Travel >> Destinations >> North America

Defining a Region: Physical, Cultural, and Political Criteria

A **region** is an area of land or water distinguished by shared characteristics that set it apart from surrounding areas. Regions are fundamental units of geographic analysis and can be defined at any scale—local to global.

Types of Defining Criteria

1. Physical (Natural) Regions

Based on observable environmental features:

Climate: Tropical rainforest, Mediterranean, Desert, Tundra.
Landforms: Mountain ranges (Rockies), river basins (Amazon), coastal plains.
Vegetation/Biomes: Taiga, savanna, chaparral.
Soils/Hydrology: Chernozem belt, Great Lakes watershed.

2. Cultural (Human) Regions

Based on shared human traits:

Language: Francophone Africa, Hispanophone Latin America, Arab World.
Religion: Islamic World, Buddhist Southeast Asia, Bible Belt (US).
Ethnicity/Ancestry: Kurdistan, Basque Country, Amish Country.
Lifestyle/Economy: Pastoral Sahel, Rice-farming Mekong Delta, Rust Belt.

3. Political / Administrative Regions

Based on governance boundaries:

Countries, states, provinces, districts.
Supranational: EU, ASEAN, ECOWAS, Mercosur.
Special: Federal reserves, military zones, indigenous territories.

4. Functional (Nodal) Regions

Organized around a central node & flows:

Metropolitan areas (NYC metro), market areas, commuter sheds, broadcast ranges.

5. Perceptual (Vernacular) Regions

Based on collective mental maps:

"The South," "The Midwest," "Middle East," "Outback," "Cascadia"—fuzzy borders, cultural resonance.

Scale & Nesting

Regions nest: **Neighborhood → City → Metro → State → Census Region → Nation → Continent → World Region**. Boundaries can be sharp (political) or transitional (ecotones, cultural gradients).