Region - wikipedia Region Two or three dimensionally defined space, mainly in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences This article is about the concept of region in geography. For other uses, see Region ( disambiguation ). In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography ), human impact characteristics ( human geography ), and the interaction of humanity and the environment ( environmental geography ). Geographic regions and sub-regions are mostly described by their imprecisely defined, and sometimes transitory boundaries, except in human geography, where jurisdiction areas such as national borders are defined in law. Apart from the global continental regions, there are also hydrospheric and atmospheric regions that cover the oceans, and discrete climates above the land and water masses of the planet. The land and water global regions are divided into subregions geographically bounded by large geological features that influence large - scale ecologies, such as plains and features. As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among the many branches of geography, each of which can describe areas in regional terms. For example, ecoregion is a term used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in biogeography, and so on. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called regional geography. In the fields of physical geography, ecology, biogeography, zoogeography, and environmental geography, regions tend to be based on natural features such as ecosystems or biotopes, biomes, drainage basins, natural regions, mountain ranges, soil types. Where human geography is concerned, the regions and subregions are described by the discipline of ethnography. A region has its own nature that could not be moved. The first nature is its natural environment ( landform, climate, etc. ). The second nature is its physical elements complex that were built by people in the past. The third nature is its socio - cultural context that could not be replaced by new immigrants. Contents 1 Globalization 1.1 Continental regions 1.2 Regional geography 2 Human geography 2.1 Historical regions 2.2 Tourism region 2.3 Natural resource regions 2.4 Religious regions 2.5 Political regions 2.6 Administrative regions 2.6. 1 Local administrative regions 2.7 Traditional or informal regions 2.8 Functional regions 2.9 Military regions 2.10 Media geography 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links Globalization Global regions distinguishable from space, and are therefore clearly distinguished by the two basic terrestrial environments, land and water. However, they have been generally recognised as such much earlier by terrestrial cartography because of their impact on human geography. They are divided into largest of land regions, known as continents, and the largest of water regions known as oceans. There are also significant regions that do not belong to either classification, such as archipelago regions that are littoral regions, or earthquake regions that are defined in geology. Continental regions Continental regions are usually based on broad experiences in human history and attempts to reduce very large areas to more manageable regionalization for the purpose of study. As such they are conceptual constructs, usually lacking distinct boundaries. Oceanic division into maritime regions are used in conjunction with the relationship to the central area of the continent, using directions of the compass. Some continental regions are defined by the major continental feature of their identity, such as the Amazon basin, or the Sahara, which both occupy a significant percentage of their respective continental land area. To a large extent, major continental regions are mental constructs created by considering an efficient way to define large areas of the continents. For the most part, the images of the world are derived as much from academic studies, the media, or from personal experience of global exploration. They are a matter of collective human knowledge of its own planet and are attempts to better understand their environments. Regional geography Regional geography is a branch of geography that studies regions of all sizes across the Earth. It has a prevailing descriptive character. The main aim is to understand or define the uniqueness or character of a particular region, which consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization, which covers the proper techniques of space delimitation into regions. Regional geography is also considered as a certain approach to study in geographical sciences ( similar to quantitative or critical geographies ; for more information, see history of geography ). Human geography Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with various discrete environments. It encompasses human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects among others that are often clearly delineated. While the major focus of human geography is not the physical landscape of the Earth ( see physical geography ), it is hardly possible to discuss human geography without referring to the physical landscape on which human activities are being played out, and environmental geography is emerging as a link between the two. Regions of human geography can be divided into many broad categories : Cultural geography Demography Development geography Economic geography Ethnography Geopolitics Health geography Historical geography Language geography Religion geography Social geography Time geography Tourism geography Transportation geography Urban geography Media Geography Historical regions Main article : Historical region The field of historical geography involves the study of human history as it relates to places and regions or the study of how places and regions have changed over time. D.W. Meinig, a historical geographer of America, describes many historical regions in his book The Shaping of America : A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History. For example, in identifying European `` source regions '' in early American colonization efforts, he defines and describes the Northwest European Atlantic Protestant Region, which includes sub-regions such as the `` Western Channel Community '', which itself is made of sub-regions such as the English West Country of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and Dorset. In describing historic regions of America, Meinig writes of `` The Great Fishery '' off the coast of Newfoundland and New England, an oceanic region that includes the Grand Banks. He rejects regions traditionally used in describing American history, like New France, `` West Indies '', the Middle Colonies, and the individual colonies themselves ( Province of Maryland, for example ). Instead he writes of `` discrete colonization areas, '' which may be named after colonies but rarely adhere strictly to political boundaries. Historic regions of this type Meinig writes about include `` Greater New England '' and its major sub-regions of `` Plymouth, '' `` New Haven shores '' ( including parts of Long Island ), `` Rhode Island '' ( or `` Narragansett Bay '' ), `` the Piscataqua, '' `` Massachusetts Bay, '' `` Connecticut Valley, '' and to a lesser degree, regions in the sphere of influence of Greater New England, `` Acadia '' ( Nova Scotia ), `` Newfoundland and The Fishery / The Banks. '' Other examples of historical regions include Iroquoia, Ohio Country, Illinois Country, and Rupert 's Land. Tourism region Main article : Tourism region A tourism region is a geographical region that has been designated by a governmental organization or tourism bureau as having common cultural or environmental characteristics. These regions are often named after a geographical, former, or current administrative region or may have a name created for tourism purposes. The names often evoke certain positive qualities of the area and suggest a coherent tourism experience to visitors. Countries, states, provinces, and other administrative regions are often carved up into tourism regions to facilitate attracting visitors. Some of the more famous tourism regions based on historical or current administrative regions include Tuscany in Italy and Yucatán in Mexico. Famous examples of regions created by a government or tourism bureau include the United Kingdom 's Lake District and California 's Wine Country. great plains region Natural resource regions Natural resources often occur in distinct regions. Natural resource regions can be a topic of physical geography or environmental geography, but also have a strong element of human geography and economic geography. A coal region, for example, is a physical or geomorphological region, but its development and exploitation can make it into an economic and a cultural region. Some examples of natural resource regions include the Rumaila Field, the oil field that lies along the border or Iraq and Kuwait and played a role in the Gulf War ; the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, which is a historical region as well as a cultural, physical, and natural resource region ; the South Wales Coalfield, which like Pennsylvania 's coal region is a historical, cultural, and natural region ; the Kuznetsk Basin, a similarly important coal mining region in Russia ; Kryvbas, the economic and iron ore mining region of Ukraine ; and the James Bay Project, a large region of Quebec where one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world has been developed. Religious regions Sometimes a region associated with a religion is given a name, like Christendom, a term with medieval and renaissance connotations of Christianity as a sort of social and political polity. The term Muslim world is sometimes used to refer to the region of the world where Islam is dominant. These broad terms are very vague when used to describe regions. Within some religions there are clearly defined regions. The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and others, define ecclesiastical regions with names such as diocese, eparchy, ecclesiastical provinces, and parish. For example, the United States is divided into 32 Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces. The Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod is organized into 33 geographic districts, which are subdivided into circuits ( the Atlantic District ( LCMS ), for example ). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints uses regions similar to dioceses and parishes, but uses terms like ward and stake. Political regions See also : Administrative divisions In the field of political geography, regions tend to be based on political units such as sovereign states ; subnational units such as administrative regions, provinces, states ( in the United States ), counties, townships, territories, etc. ; and multinational groupings, including formally defined units such as the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and NATO, as well as informally defined regions such as the Third World, Western Europe, and the Middle East. Administrative regions Further information : Administrative division The word `` region '' is taken from the Latin regio ( derived from regere, to rule ), and a number of countries have borrowed the term as the formal name for a type of subnational entity ( e.g., the región, used in Chile ). In English, the word is also used as the conventional translation for equivalent terms in other languages ( e.g., the область ( oblast ), used in Russia alongside a broader term регион ). The following countries use the term `` region '' ( or its cognate ) as the name of a type of subnational administrative unit : Belgium ( in French, région ; in German, Region ; the Dutch term gewest is often translated as `` region '' ) Chad ( région, effective from 2002 ) Chile ( región ) Côte d'Ivoire ( région ) Denmark ( effective from 2007 ) England ( not the United Kingdom as a whole ) Eritrea France ( région ) Ghana Guinea ( région ) Guinea - Bissau ( região ) Guyana Hungary ( régió ) Italy ( regione ) Madagascar ( région ) Mali ( région ) Malta ( reġjun ) Namibia New Zealand Peru ( región ) Portugal ( região ) Philippines ( rehiyon ) Senegal ( région ) Tanzania Togo ( région ) Trinidad and Tobago ( Regional Corporation ) The Canadian province of Québec also uses the `` administrative region '' ( région administrative ). Scotland had local government regions from 1975 to 1996. In Spain the official name of the autonomous community of Murcia is Región de Murcia. Also, some single - province autonomous communities such as Madrid use the term región interchangeably with comunidad autónoma. Two län ( counties ) in Sweden are officially called ' regions ' : Skåne and Västra Götaland, and there is currently a controversial proposal to divide the rest of Sweden into large regions, replacing the current counties. The government of the Philippines uses the term `` region '' ( in Filipino, rehiyon ) when it 's necessary to group provinces, the primary administrative subdivision of the country. This is also the case in Brazil, which groups its primary administrative divisions ( estados ; `` states '' ) into grandes regiões ( greater regions ) for statistical purposes, while Russia uses экономические районы ( economic regions ) in a similar way, as does Romania and Venezuela. The government of Singapore makes use of the term `` region '' for its own administrative purposes. The following countries use an administrative subdivision conventionally referred to as a region in English : Bulgaria, which uses the област ( oblast ) Russia, which uses the область ( oblast ' ), and for some regions the край ( krai ) Ukraine, which uses the область ( oblast ' ) Slovakia ( kraj ) China has five 自治区 ( zìzhìqū ) and two 特別 行政區 ( or 特别 行政区 ; tèbiéxíngzhèngqū ), which are translated as `` autonomous region '' and `` special administrative region '', respectively. Local administrative regions There are many relatively small regions based on local government agencies such as districts, agencies, or regions. In general, they are all regions in the general sense of being bounded spatial units. Examples include electoral districts such as Washington 's 6th congressional district and Tennessee 's 1st congressional district ; school districts such as Granite School District and Los Angeles Unified School District ; economic districts such as the Reedy Creek Improvement District ; metropolitan areas such as the Seattle metropolitan area, and metropolitan districts such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Las Vegas - Clark County Library District, the Metropolitan Police Service of Greater London, as well as other local districts like the York Rural Sanitary District, the Delaware River Port Authority, the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District, and C - TRAN. Traditional or informal regions The traditional territorial divisions of some countries are also commonly rendered in English as `` regions ''. These informal divisions do not form the basis of the modern administrative divisions of these countries, but still define and delimit local regional identity and sense of belonging. Examples include : Finland Japan Korea Norway ( landsdeler ) Romania Slovakia Functional regions Functional regions are usually understood to be the areas organised by the horizontal functional relations ( flows, interactions ) that are maximised within a region and minimised across its borders so that the principles of internal cohesiveness and external separation regarding spatial interactions are met ( see, for instance, Farmer and Fotheringham, 2011 ; Klapka, Halas, 2016 ; Smart, 1974 ). A functional region is not an abstract spatial concept, but to a certain extent it can be regarded as a reflection of the spatial behaviour of individuals in a geographic space. The functional region is conceived as a general concept while its inner structure, inner spatial flows, and interactions need not necessarily show any regular pattern, only selfcontainment. The concept of self - containment remains the only crucial defining characteristic of a functional region. Nodal regions, functional urban regions, daily urban systems, local labour - market areas ( LLMAs ), or travel - to - work areas ( TTWAs ) are considered to be special instances of a general functional region that need to fulfil some specific conditions regarding, for instance, the character of the region - organising interaction or the presence of urban cores, ( Halas et al., 2015 ). Military regions See also : Military district Common military ranks in English Navies Armies Air forces Commissioned officers Admiral of the fleet Field marshal or General of the Army Marshal of the air force Admiral General Air chief marshal Vice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshal Rear admiral Major general Air vice-marshal Commodore Brigadier or brigadier general Air commodore Captain Colonel Group captain Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander Lieutenant commander Major or Commandant Squadron leader Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant Lieutenant junior grade or sub-lieutenant Lieutenant or first lieutenant Flying officer Ensign or midshipman Second lieutenant Pilot officer Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet Enlisted grades Warrant officer or chief petty officer Warrant officer or sergeant major Warrant officer Petty officer Sergeant Sergeant Leading seaman Corporal or bombardier Corporal Seaman Private or gunner or trooper Aircraftman or airman Talk View In military usage, a region is shorthand for the name of a military formation larger than an Army Group and smaller than an Army Theater or simply Theater. The full name of the military formation is Army Region. The size of an Army Region can vary widely but is generally somewhere between about 1 million and 3 million soldiers. Two or more Army Regions could make up an Army Theater. An Army Region is typically commanded by a full General ( US four stars ), a Field Marshal, or General of the Army ( US five stars ), or Generalissimo ( Soviet Union ). Due to the large size of this formation, its use is rarely employed. Some of the very few examples of an Army Region are each of the Eastern, Western, and southern ( mostly in Italy ) fronts in Europe during World War II. The military map unit symbol for this echelon of formation ( see Military organization and APP - 6A ) consists of six Xs. Media geography Media geography is a spatio - temporal understanding, brought through different gadgets of media, nowadays, media became inevitable at different proportions and everyone supposed to consumed at different gravity. The spatial attributes are studied with the help of media outputs in shape of images which are contested in nature and pattern as well where politics is inseparable. Media geography is giving spatial understanding of mediated image. See also Autonomous region Committee of the Regions Continent Continental fragment Euroregion Latin names of regions Military district Regional district Regionalism ( disambiguation ) Regional municipality Subcontinent Submerged continents Subregion Supercontinent United Nations geoscheme Notes Jump up ^ Turismo.intoscana.it. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 25 Jump up ^ Visitmexico.com Archived 2010 - 01 - 02 at the Wayback Machine., Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 25 Jump up ^ Lakedistrict.gov.uk, Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 25 Jump up ^ Winecountry.com, Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 25 Jump up ^ Farmer, CJQ ; Fotheringham, AS ( 2011 ). `` Network - based functional regions ''. Environment and Planning A. 43 ( 11 ) : 2723 -- 2741. doi : 10.1068 / a44136. Jump up ^ Klapka, P ; Halas, M ( 2016 ). `` Conceptualising patterns of spatial flows : five decades of advances in the definition and use of functional regions ''. Moravian Geographical Reports. 24 ( 2 ) : 2 -- 11. doi : 10.1515 / mgr - 2016 - 0006. Jump up ^ Smart, MW ( 1974 ). `` Labour market areas : uses and definition ''. Progress in Planning. 2 : 239 -- 353. doi : 10.1016 / 0305 - 9006 ( 74 ) 90008 - 7. Jump up ^ Halas, M ; Klapka, P ; Tonev, P ; Bednar, M ( 2015 ). `` An alternative definition and use for the constraint function for rule - based methods of functional regionalisation ''. Environment and Planning A. 47 ( 5 ) : 1175 -- 1191. doi : 10.1177 / 0308518X15592306. References Bailey, Robert G. ( 1996 ) Ecosystem Geography. New York : Springer - Verlag. ISBN 0 - 387 - 94586 - 5 Meinig, D.W. ( 1986 ). The Shaping of America : A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volume 1 : Atlantic America, 1492 - 1800. New Haven : Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 300 - 03548 - 9 Moinuddin Shekh. ( 2017 ) `` Mediascape and the State : A Geographical Interpretation of Image Politics in Uttar Pradesh, India. Netherland, Springer. Smith - Peter, Susan ( 2018 ) Imagining Russian Regions : Subnational Identity and Civil Society in Nineteenth - Century Russia. Leiden : Brill, 2017. ISBN 9789004353497 External links Map and descriptions of hydrologic unit regions of the United States Federal Standards for Delineation of Hydrologic Unit Boundaries Physiographic regions of the United States Continents of the world Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe North America South America Afro - Eurasia America Eurasia Oceania Prehistoric supercontinents Gondwana Laurasia Pangaea Pannotia Rodinia Columbia Kenorland Nena Sclavia Ur Vaalbara Other prehistoric continents Amazonia Arctica Asiamerica Atlantica Avalonia Baltica Cimmeria Congo craton Euramerica Kalaharia Kazakhstania Laurentia North China Siberia South China East Antarctica Pampia Cuyania Chilenia Submerged continents Kerguelen Plateau Zealandia Sahul Sunda Possible future supercontinents Pangaea Ultima Amasia Novopangaea Mythical and hypothesised continents Atlantis Kumari Kandam Lemuria Meropis Mu Hyperborea Terra Australis Subcontinents Arabian peninsula Indian subcontinent See also Regions of the world Continental fragment Book Category Regions of the world Regions of Africa Central Africa Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Cape Lopez Mayombe Igboland Mbaise Maputaland Pool Malebo Congo Basin Chad Basin Congolese rainforests Ouaddaï highlands Ennedi Plateau East Africa African Great Lakes Albertine Rift East African Rift Great Rift Valley Gregory Rift Rift Valley lakes Swahili coast Virunga Mountains Kavirondo Zanj Serengeti Horn of Africa Afar Triangle Al - Habash Barbara Danakil Alps Danakil Desert Ethiopian Highlands Gulf of Aden Gulf of Tadjoura Indian Ocean islands Comoros Islands North Africa Maghreb Ifriqiya Barbary Coast Bashmur Ancient Libya Atlas Mountains Nile Valley Cataracts of the Nile Darfur Gulf of Aqaba Lower Egypt Lower Nubia Middle Egypt Nile Delta Nuba Mountains Nubia The Sudans Upper Egypt Western Sahara West Africa Pepper Coast Gold Coast Slave Coast Ivory Coast Cape Palmas Cape Mesurado Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Niger Basin Guinean Forests of West Africa Niger Delta Inner Niger Delta Southern Africa Madagascar Central Highlands ( Madagascar ) Northern Highlands Rhodesia North South Thembuland Succulent Karoo Nama Karoo Bushveld Highveld Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Kalahari Desert Okavango Delta Cape Peninsula False Bay Hydra Bay Macro-regions Aethiopia Arab world Commonwealth realm East African montane forests Eastern Desert Equatorial Africa Françafrique Gibraltar Arc Greater Middle East Islands of Africa List of countries where Arabic is an official language Mediterranean Basin MENA MENASA Middle East Mittelafrika Negroland Northeast Africa Portuguese - speaking African countries Sahara Sahel Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan ( region ) Sudanian Savanna Tibesti Mountains Tropical Africa Regions of Asia Central Greater Middle East Aral Sea Aralkum Desert Caspian Sea Dead Sea Sea of Galilee Tartary Transoxiana Turan Greater Khorasan Ariana Khwarezm Sistan Kazakhstania Eurasian Steppe Asian Steppe Kazakh Steppe Pontic -- Caspian steppe Mongolian - Manchurian grassland Wild Fields Yedisan Muravsky Trail Ural Ural Mountains Volga region Idel - Ural Kolyma Transbaikal Pryazovia Bjarmaland Kuban Zalesye Ingria Novorossiya Gornaya Shoriya Tulgas Iranian Plateau Altai Mountains Pamir Mountains Tian Shan Badakhshan Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Mount Imeon Mongolian Plateau Western Regions Taklamakan Desert Karakoram Trans - Karakoram Tract Siachen Glacier North Inner Asia Northeast Ural Ural Mountains Far East Russian Far East Okhotsk - Manchurian taiga Extreme North Tartary Siberia Baikalia ( Lake Baikal ) Transbaikal Khatanga Gulf Baraba steppe Kamchatka Peninsula Amur Basin Yenisei Gulf Yenisei Basin Sikhote - Alin Beringia Chukchi Peninsula East Orient Japanese archipelago Northeastern Japan Arc Sakhalin Island Arc Korean Peninsula Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert Greater Khingan Mongolian Plateau Inner Asia Inner Mongolia Outer Mongolia China proper Manchuria Outer Manchuria Inner Manchuria Northeast China Plain Mongolian - Manchurian grassland North China Plain Yan Mountains Kunlun Mountains Liaodong Peninsula Himalayas Tibetan Plateau Tibet Tarim Basin Northern Silk Road Hexi Corridor Nanzhong Lingnan Liangguang Jiangnan Jianghuai Guanzhong Huizhou Wu Jiaozhou Zhongyuan Shaannan Ordos Loop Loess Plateau Shaanbei Hamgyong Mountains Central Mountain Range Japanese Alps Suzuka Mountains Leizhou Peninsula Gulf of Tonkin Yangtze River Delta Pearl River Delta Yenisei Basin Altai Mountains Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass West Greater Middle East MENA MENASA Middle East Red Sea Caspian Sea Mediterranean Sea Zagros Mountains Persian Gulf Pirate Coast Strait of Hormuz Greater and Lesser Tunbs Al - Faw Peninsula Gulf of Oman Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Aden Balochistan Arabian Peninsula Najd Hejaz Tihamah Eastern Arabia South Arabia Hadhramaut Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert Tigris -- Euphrates Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia Lower Mesopotamia Sawad Nineveh plains Akkad ( region ) Babylonia Canaan Aram Aram - Naharaim Eber - Nari Suhum Eastern Mediterranean Mashriq Kurdistan Levant Southern Levant Transjordan Jordan Rift Valley Israel Levantine Sea Golan Heights Hula Valley Galilee Gilead Judea Samaria Arabah Anti-Lebanon Mountains Sinai Peninsula Arabian Desert Syrian Desert Fertile Crescent Azerbaijan Syria Palestine Iranian Plateau Armenian Highlands Caucasus Caucasus Mountains Greater Caucasus Lesser Caucasus North Caucasus South Caucasus Kur - Araz Lowland Lankaran Lowland Alborz Absheron Peninsula Anatolia Cilicia Cappadocia Alpide belt South Orient Greater India Indian subcontinent Himalayas Hindu Kush Carnatic region Western Ghats Eastern Ghats Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Pashtunistan Punjab Balochistan Kashmir Kashmir Valley Pir Panjal Range Thar Desert Indus Valley Indus River Delta Indus Valley Desert Indo - Gangetic Plain Eastern coastal plains Western Coastal Plains Meghalaya subtropical forests MENASA Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Doab Bagar tract Great Rann of Kutch Little Rann of Kutch Deccan Plateau Coromandel Coast Konkan False Divi Point Hindi Belt Ladakh Aksai Chin Gilgit - Baltistan Baltistan Shigar Valley Karakoram Saltoro Mountains Siachen Glacier Bay of Bengal Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Mannar Trans - Karakoram Tract Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Lakshadweep Paropamisadae Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andaman Islands Nicobar Islands Maldive Islands Alpide belt Southeast Orient Sundaland Mainland Indochina Malay Peninsula Maritime Peninsular Malaysia Sunda Islands Greater Sunda Islands Lesser Sunda Islands Indonesian Archipelago Wallacea Timor New Guinea Bonis Peninsula Papuan Peninsula Huon Peninsula Huon Gulf Bird 's Head Peninsula Gazelle Peninsula Philippine Archipelago Luzon Visayas Mindanao Leyte Gulf Gulf of Thailand East Indies Nanyang Alpide belt Asia - Pacific Tropical Asia Ring of Fire Regions of Europe North Nordic Northwestern Scandinavia Scandinavian Peninsula Fennoscandia Baltoscandia Jutland Sápmi West Nordic Baltic Baltic Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Iceland Faroe Islands East Danubian countries Prussia Galicia Volhynia Donbass Sloboda Ukraine Sambia Peninsula Amber Coast Curonian Spit Izyum Trail Lithuania Minor Nemunas Delta Baltic Baltic Sea Vyborg Bay Karelia East Karelia Karelian Isthmus Lokhaniemi Southeastern Balkans Aegean Islands Gulf of Chania North Caucasus Greater Caucasus Kabardia European Russia Southern Russia Central Baltic Baltic Sea Alpine states Alpide belt Visegrád Group Bohemia West Benelux Low Countries Northwest British Isles English Channel Channel Islands Cotentin Peninsula Normandy Brittany Gulf of Lion Iberia Al - Andalus Baetic System Pyrenees Alpide belt South Italian Peninsula Insular Italy Tuscan Archipelago Aegadian Islands Iberia Al - Andalus Baetic System Gibraltar Arc Southeastern Mediterranean Crimea Alpide belt Germanic Romance Celtic Slavic countries Uralic European Plain Eurasian Steppe Pontic -- Caspian steppe Wild Fields Pannonian Basin Great Hungarian Plain Little Hungarian Plain Eastern Slovak Lowland Regions of North America Northern Eastern Canada Western Canada Canadian Prairies Central Canada Northern Canada Atlantic Canada The Maritimes French Canada English Canada Acadia Acadian Peninsula Quebec City -- Windsor Corridor Peace River Country Cypress Hills Palliser 's Triangle Canadian Shield Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Newfoundland ( island ) Vancouver Island Gulf Islands Strait of Georgia Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Peninsula Gaspé Peninsula Avalon Peninsula Bay de Verde Peninsula Brodeur Peninsula Melville Peninsula Bruce Peninsula Banks Peninsula ( Nunavut ) Cook Peninsula Gulf of Boothia Georgian Bay Hudson Bay James Bay Greenland Pacific Northwest Inland Northwest Northeast New England Mid-Atlantic Commonwealth West Midwest Upper Midwest Mountain states Intermountain West Basin and Range Province Oregon Trail Mormon Corridor Calumet Region Southwest Old Southwest Llano Estacado Central United States Tallgrass prairie South South Central Deep South Upland South Four Corners East Coast West Coast Gulf Coast Third Coast Eastern United States Appalachia Trans - Mississippi Great North Woods Great Plains Interior Plains Great Lakes Great Basin Great Basin Desert Acadia Ozarks Ark - La - Tex Waxhaws Siouxland Twin Tiers Driftless Area Palouse Piedmont Atlantic coastal plain Outer Lands Black Dirt Region Blackstone Valley Piney Woods Rocky Mountains Mojave Desert The Dakotas The Carolinas Shawnee Hills San Fernando Valley Tornado Alley North Coast Lost Coast Emerald Triangle San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay North Bay East Bay Silicon Valley Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Gulf of Mexico Lower Colorado River Valley Sacramento -- San Joaquin River Delta Yukon -- Kuskokwim Delta Colville Delta Arkansas Delta Mobile -- Tensaw River Delta Mississippi Delta Mississippi River Delta Columbia River Estuary Great Basin High Desert Monterey Peninsula Upper Peninsula of Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan Virginia Peninsula Keweenaw Peninsula Middle Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Niagara Peninsula Beringia Belt regions Bible Belt Black Belt Corn Belt Cotton Belt Frost Belt Rice Belt Rust Belt Sun Belt Snow Belt Latin Northern Mexico Baja California Peninsula Gulf of California Colorado River Delta Gulf of Mexico Soconusco Tierra Caliente La Mixteca La Huasteca Bajío Valley of Mexico Mezquital Valley Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Yucatán Peninsula Basin and Range Province Western Caribbean Zone Isthmus of Panama Gulf of Panama Pearl Islands Azuero Peninsula Mosquito Coast West Indies Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Lucayan Archipelago Southern Caribbean Aridoamerica Mesoamerica Oasisamerica Northern Middle Anglo Latin French Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Regions of Oceania Australasia Gulf of Carpentaria Zealandia Kula Gulf Australia Capital Country Eastern Australia Lake Eyre basin Murray -- Darling basin Northern Australia Nullarbor Plain Outback Southern Australia Maralinga Sunraysia Great Victoria Desert Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf St Vincent Lefevre Peninsula Fleurieu Peninsula Yorke Peninsula Eyre Peninsula Mornington Peninsula Bellarine Peninsula Mount Henry Peninsula Melanesia Islands Region Bismarck Archipelago Solomon Islands North Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Fiji New Caledonia New Guinea Papua New Guinea Republic of West Papua Vanuatu Micronesia Caroline Islands Federated States of Micronesia Palau Kiribati Mariana Islands Guam Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands Nauru Wake Island Polynesia Easter Island Hawaiian Islands Cook Islands French Polynesia Austral Islands Gambier Islands Mangareva Islands Marquesas Islands Society Islands Tuamotu Kermadec Islands New Zealand South Island North Island Niue Pitcairn Islands Samoan Islands American Samoa Independent State of Samoa Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Ring of Fire Regions of South America East Amazon basin Atlantic Forest Caatinga Cerrado North Caribbean South America West Indies Los Llanos The Guianas Amazon basin Amazon rainforest Gulf of Paria Paria Peninsula Paraguaná Peninsula Orinoco Delta South Tierra del Fuego Patagonia Pampas Pantanal Gran Chaco Chiquitano dry forests Valdes Peninsula West Andes Tropical Andes Wet Andes Dry Andes Pariacaca mountain range Altiplano Atacama Desert Latin Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Polar regions Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica West Antarctica Eklund Islands Ecozone Extreme points Islands Arctic Arctic Alaska British Arctic Territories Canadian Arctic Archipelago Finnmark Greenland Northern Canada Northwest Territories Nunavik Nunavut Russian Arctic Sakha Sápmi Yukon North American Arctic Earth 's oceans and seas Arctic Ocean Amundsen Gulf Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Greenland Sea Gulf of Boothia Kara Sea Laptev Sea Lincoln Sea Prince Gustav Adolf Sea Pechora Sea Queen Victoria Sea Wandel Sea White Sea Atlantic Ocean Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea Archipelago Sea Argentine Sea Baffin Bay Balearic Sea Baltic Sea Bay of Biscay Bay of Bothnia Bay of Campeche Bay of Fundy Black Sea Bothnian Sea Caribbean Sea Celtic Sea English Channel Foxe Basin Greenland Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Gulf of Lion Gulf of Guinea Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Saint Lawrence Gulf of Sidra Gulf of Venezuela Hudson Bay Ionian Sea Irish Sea Irminger Sea James Bay Labrador Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Marmara Sea Mediterranean Sea Myrtoan Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea Sargasso Sea Sea of Åland Sea of Azov Sea of Crete Sea of the Hebrides Thracian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Wadden Sea Indian Ocean Andaman Sea Arabian Sea Bali Sea Bay of Bengal Flores Sea Great Australian Bight Gulf of Aden Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Oman Gulf of Suez Java Sea Laccadive Sea Mozambique Channel Persian Gulf Red Sea Timor Sea Pacific Ocean Arafura Sea Banda Sea Bering Sea Bismarck Sea Bohai Sea Bohol Sea Camotes Sea Celebes Sea Ceram Sea Chilean Sea Coral Sea East China Sea Gulf of Alaska Gulf of Anadyr Gulf of California Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf of Fonseca Gulf of Panama Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Tonkin Halmahera Sea Koro Sea Mar de Grau Molucca Sea Moro Gulf Philippine Sea Salish Sea Savu Sea Sea of Japan Sea of Okhotsk Seto Inland Sea Shantar Sea Sibuyan Sea Solomon Sea South China Sea Sulu Sea Tasman Sea Visayan Sea Yellow Sea Southern Ocean Amundsen Sea Bellingshausen Sea Cooperation Sea Cosmonauts Sea Davis Sea D'Urville Sea King Haakon VII Sea Lazarev Sea Mawson Sea Riiser - Larsen Sea Ross Sea Scotia Sea Somov Sea Weddell Sea Landlocked seas Aral Sea Caspian Sea Dead Sea Salton Sea Book Category Designations for types of administrative territorial entities English terms Common English terms Area Insular area Local government area Protected area Special area Statistical area Combined statistical area Metropolitan statistical area Micropolitan statistical area Urban area Canton Half - canton Borough County borough Metropolitan borough Capital Federal capital Imperial capital City City state Autonomous city Charter city Independent city Incorporated city Imperial city Free imperial city Royal free city Community Autonomous community Residential community County Administrative county Autonomous county Consolidated city - county Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan Viscountcy Country Overseas country Department Overseas department District Capital district City district Congressional district Electoral district Federal district Indian government district Land district Metropolitan district Non-metropolitan district Military district Municipal district Police district Regional district Rural district Sanitary district Subdistrict Urban district Special district Division Census division Police division Subdivision Municipality City municipality County municipality Norway Nova Scotia Regional county municipality Direct - controlled municipality District municipality Mountain resort municipality Neutral municipality Regional municipality Resort municipality Rural municipality Specialized municipality Prefecture Autonomous prefecture Subprefecture Super-prefecture Praetorian prefecture Province Autonomous province Overseas province Roman province Region Administrative region Autonomous region Capital region Development region Economic region Mesoregion Microregion Overseas region Planning region Special administrative region Statistical region Subregion Reserve Biosphere reserve Ecological reserve Game reserve Indian reserve Nature reserve State Federal state Free state Sovereign state Territory Capital territory Federal capital territory Dependent territory Federal territory Military territory Organized incorporated territory Overseas territory Union territory Unorganized territory Town Census town Market town Township Charter township Civil township Paper township Survey township Urban township Unit Autonomous territorial unit Local administrative unit Municipal unit Regional unit Zone Economic zone Exclusive economic zone Free economic zone Special economic zone Free - trade zone Neutral zone Self - administered zone Other English terms Current Alpine resort Bailiwick Banner Autonomous Block Cadastre Circle Circuit Colony Commune Condominium Constituency Duchy Eldership Emirate Federal dependency Governorate Hamlet Ilkhanate Indian reservation Manor Royal Muftiate Neighbourhood Parish Periphery Precinct Principality Protectorate Quarter Regency Autonomous republic Riding Sector Autonomous Shire Sultanate Suzerainty Townland Village Administrative Summer Ward Historical Agency Barony Burgh Exarchate Hide Hundred Imperial Circle March Monthon Presidency Residency Roman diocese Seat Tenth Tithing Non-English or loanwords Current Amt Bakhsh Barangay Bezirk Regierungsbezirk Comune Frazione Fu Gemeinde Austria Germany South Tyrol Switzerland Gemeente Gmina Județ Kampong Kunta / kommun Finland Sweden Län Località Megye Muban Mukim Oblast Autonomous Okrug Ostān Poblacion Purok Shahrestān Sum Sýsla Tehsil Vingtaine Historical Commote Gau Heerlijkheid Köping Landskommun Maalaiskunta Nome Egypt Greece Pagus Pargana Plasă Satrapy Socken Subah Syssel Zhou Arabic terms for country subdivisions First - level Muhafazah ( محافظة governorate ) Wilayah ( ولاية province ) Mintaqah ( منطقة region ) Mudiriyah ( مديرية directorate ) Imarah ( إمارة emirate ) Baladiyah ( بلدية municipality ) Shabiyah ( شعبية `` popularate '' ) Second / third - level Mintaqah ( منطقة region ) Qadaa ( قضاء district ) Nahiyah ( ناحية subdistrict ) Markaz ( مركز district ) Mutamadiyah ( معتمدية `` delegation '' ) Daerah / Daïra ( دائرة circle ) Liwa ( لواء banner / sanjak ) City / township - level Amanah ( أمانة municipality ) Baladiyah ( بلدية municipality ) Ḥai ( حي neighborhood / quarter ) Mahallah ( محلة ) Qarya ( قرية ) Sheyakhah ( شياخة `` neighborhood subdivision '' ) Majlis Mahalliyy ( مجلس محلي local council ) Majlis ʾIqlimiyy ( مجلس اقليمي regional council ) English translations given are those most commonly used. French terms for country subdivisions arrondissement département préfecture subprefectures Greek terms for country subdivisions Modern apokentromenes dioikiseis / geniki dioikisis / diamerisma / periphereia nomos / periphereiaki enotita demos / eparchia / koinotita Historical archontia / archontaton bandon demos despotaton dioikesis doukaton droungos eparchia exarchaton katepanikion kephalatikion kleisoura meris naukrareia satrapeia strategis thema toparchia tourma signifies a defunct institution Portuguese terms for country subdivisions Regional subdivisions Estado Distrito federal Província Região Distrito Comarca Capitania Local subdivisions Município Concelho Freguesia Comuna Circunscrição Settlements Cidade Vila Aldeia Bairro Lugar Historical subdivisions in italics. Slavic terms for country subdivisions Current dzielnica gmina krai kraj krajina / pokrajina městys obec oblast / oblast ' / oblasti / oblys / obwód / voblast ' okręg okres okrug opština / općina / občina / obshtina osiedle powiat / povit raion selsoviet / silrada sołectwo voivodeship / vojvodina županija Historical darugha gromada guberniya / gubernia jurydyka khutor obshchina okolia opole pogost prowincja sorok srez starostwo / starostva uyezd volost ziemia župa Spanish terms for country subdivisions National, Federal Comunidad autónoma Departamento Distrito federal Estado Provincia Región Regional, Metropolitan Cantón Comarca Comuna Corregimiento Delegación Distrito Mancomunidad Merindad Municipalidad Municipio Parroquia Ecuador Spain Urban, Rural Aldea Alquería Anteiglesia Asentamiento Asentamiento informal Pueblos jóvenes Barrio Campamento Caserío Ciudad Ciudad autónoma Colonia Lugar Masía Pedanía Población Ranchería Sitio Vereda Villa Village ( Pueblito / Pueblo ) Historical subdivisions in italics. Turkish terms for country subdivisions Modern il ( province ) ilçe ( district ) şehir ( city ) kasaba ( town ) belediye ( municipality ) belde ( community ) köy ( village ) mahalle ( neighbourhood / quarter ) Historical ağalık ( feudal district ) bucak ( subdistrict ) beylerbeylik ( province ) kadılık ( subprovince ) kaza ( sub-province ) hidivlik ( viceroyalty ) mutasarrıflık ( subprovince ) nahiye ( nahiyah ) paşalık ( province ) reya ( Romanian principalities ) sancak ( prefecture ) vilayet ( province ) voyvodalık ( Romanian provinces ) Used by ten or more countries or having derived terms. Historical derivations in italics. See also : Census division, Electoral district, Political division, and List of administrative divisions by country GND : 4049029 - 4 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Region&oldid=866464983 '' Categories : Regions Geography Geography terminology Regional geography Types of country subdivisions Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with short description All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2015 Articles containing French - language text Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aragonés Asturianu Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه বাংলা Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ भोजपुरी Български Bosanski Català Čeština ChiShona Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego गोंयची कोंकणी / Gõychi Konknni 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Ido Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Kiswahili Kurdî Ladino Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Ligure Македонски მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Nāhuatl Nederlands 日本 語 Napulitano Нохчийн Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Scots Sicilianu Simple English سنڌي Slovenščina Soomaaliga Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska Tagalog Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Vèneto Tiếng Việt Võro Winaray 吴语 ייִדיש 粵語 中文 75 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2018, at 14 : 13 ( UTC ). 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Question: what is the meaning of region in english
Answer: areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography)