We explain what a natural region is, the characteristics of each type and examples in Mexico. Also, other types of regions.
What is a natural region?
A natural region is called a area of the earth's surface whose natural geographic conditions (especially physical geography: topography, hydrography, relief, etc.) are relatively homogeneous and allow it to be managed as if it were a unit.
Like any geographic region, natural regions are difficult to define exactly, but they are useful to facilitate the work of geographical study of the planetary surface, as they allow for simple and effective management of areas that present similar natural features, that is, to construct “ homogeneous regions” based on their climate, relief, hydrography or other determining features.
See also: Geographic region
Types of natural regions
Natural regions can be classified according to the physical criteria chosen to differentiate them, that is, depending on what characteristics we look at. Thus, we can distinguish between:
- Orographic regions When considering the predominant relief in the area. One can thus speak of mountain regions, plains, plateaus or hills.
- Climatic regions When attention is paid to the predominant climate in the area, thus obtaining the so-called climatic regions: the intertropical zone, the temperate zone and the circumpolar zones.
- Phytogeographic regions When flora and vegetation are considered as classification criteria, judging by the flora formations that are most abundant. Thus, we can speak of scrub, chaparral, savannah or jungle regions.
- Ecological regions When the existence of closed and complete ecosystems in a region is taken into consideration, such as marine regions, jungle regions, desert regions, etc.
Natural regions in Mexico
Mexican geography is diverse and complex, and depending on the point of view, different natural regions can be recognized, since Mexico has wide margins of biological and climatic diversity. However, the most common thing is to distinguish between:
- Wet jungle Large extensions of evergreen forests in warm and humid climatic regions, close to the Atlantic Ocean, which abound in the territories of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas and Veracruz.
- Dry jungle Also called “Mexican dry forest”, it is distinguished from the humid Atlantic forests not only in its location, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, but also for its semi-humid climate, adapted to resisting heat and prolonged lack of rain. which translates into deciduous plant species. This region predominates in Jalisco, part of Chiapas, and the coasts from Sinaloa to Baja California, continuing towards Guatemala.
- Desert Xeric regions with very little precipitation and enormous thermal amplitude, with scalding summers and cold winters, in which vegetation is scarce and adapts to low humidity. Located especially in the north of the country, towards the border with the United States, these Mexican deserts abound in cactus species and can be found in the territories of Chihuahua, Sonora and the Tehuacán Valley, for example.
- Shrublands and grasslands Ideal regions for the cultivation of cereals and the growth of grasses, generally in long plains that occupy between 10 and 12% of the country, especially in San Luis Potosí, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Aguascalientes, and part of Sinaloa and Baja California.
- Maritime and coastal region The Mexican maritime zone is extensive, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and has an enormous variety of plant and animal biological resources, some endemic and others seasonal.
Other types of regions
Apart from the environmental, geographical regions can be organized according to various criteria, depending on the specific element we decide to focus on. We have, like this:
- Economic regions. If we look at the way in which human societies organize their productive and financial tasks.
- Political regions. If we look at the way in which human societies are organized ethnically, culturally or ideologically.
- Cultural regions. If we look exclusively at the similarity of local cultures (generally using religion or spoken language) and the territories occupied by their practitioners.
- Urban regions. Those that generally comprise a large urban population (a large city) and those others of lesser preponderance that accompany it or depend on it.
Continue with: Natural landscape
References
- “Natural region” in Wikipedia.
- “Natural regions and biogeography of Mexico” in the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) of Mexico.
- “What is Natural Region?” (video) at The Audiopedia.
- “Region” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
