We explain what natural regions are and how they are classified. Also, examples of regions in different countries around the world.
What are the natural regions of the world?
A natural region is a geographical area of the Earth's surface that has its own physical characteristics, such as relief, climate, hydrography, vegetation, the nature of the soil and other similar elements.
Although the idea of natural regions is a broad concept, it is generally applied to define the zones into which every continent or country is divided, and they are areas with specific physical or geographic characteristics. The greater the biodiversity within a territory, the greater the number of natural regions it will host.
Depending on the physical characteristics taken into account, natural regions can be:
- Orographic regions. They are classified according to the predominant relief. For example: mountain, plateau, plain.
- Climatic regions. They are classified according to the prevailing climate. For example: temperate, tropical, polar.
- Phytogeographic regions. They are classified according to the type of vegetation that predominates. For example: scrubland, savannah, forest.
Orographic natural regions
According to the type of terrain features that predominate in a certain geographic area, the regions can be:
- Mountainous regions. The high elevations of the terrain stand out, reaching several kilometers in height and can cover different climatic bands. For example: the South American Andean region, the European Alps region, the Himalayan region in Asia.
- Plateau regions. The elevations of the terrain that are devoid of a summit predominate. Plateaus may vary in height and may or may not be part of mountain ranges and mountain complexes. For example: Venezuelan Guiana, the Andean plateau, the Tibetan plateau.
- Hilly regions. Little pronounced undulations of the terrain and very low height predominate. For example: the Midlands region of England, the Lisbon region of Portugal, the Connors Hills in Australia.
- Plain or plain regions. The terrain is flat, without elevations. Many times these plains can be depressions, that is, plains below sea level, or they can be found within mountain chains, as in large plateaus. For example: The North American Great Plain, the Central European Great Plains, the Argentine pampas.
Climatic natural regions
Depending on the climate, different regions or climatic zones can be identified:
- Tropical climate regions. They are located above and below the equator and extend to the beginning of the tropics. They are the warmest and most humid areas on the planet, and temperatures are usually not lower than 18 °C. These climatic zones receive rainfall throughout the year and their climate can, in turn, be: equatorial (for example, Amazon), monsoon (Thailand) or savanna (areas of India).
- Dry climate regions. They have very low annual rainfall, and it is the climate typical of deserts and steppes, both hot and cold. Thus, it is divided into hot desert (the Sahara Desert), cold desert (Argentine Patagonia), hot steppe (Morocco) and cold steppe (steppes of Asia).
- Temperate climate regions. They receive more precipitation than areas with a dry climate, and temperatures range between -3 and 18 °C in the coldest month and are greater than 10 °C in the warmest month. According to the amount of rain it receives and the average temperature in each season, the climate can be: western coast maritime (southern Chile), subarctic maritime (Iceland coast), Mediterranean (Mediterranean Europe), summer Mediterranean cool (interior of the Iberian Peninsula), humid subtropical (southern Japan), subtropical with dry winter (interior of Africa) or temperate with dry winter (Peruvian Andes).
- Continental climate regions. They have a wide thermal amplitude, the average temperature in the coldest month is usually less than -3 °C and in the warmest month it exceeds 10 °C. They have very cold winters and a short autumn and spring. The continental climate can be: continental with warm summer (Korean Peninsula), continental with cool summer (eastern Canada), subarctic or boreal (Alaska) or subarctic with extremely cold winters (northeast Siberia).
- Polar climate regions. They have a dry and cold climate, and temperatures never exceed 10°C. They are the extreme northern and southern areas of the planet. Its climate can be tundra (northern North America) or perpetual ice (Antarctica).
Phytogeographic natural regions
According to the predominant vegetation, different phytogeographic regions can be distinguished. Some are:
- Thickets. They are typical regions with a dry climate, whose plants are usually thorny, small in size and with thick, green leaves. They also house xeric flora and species with deep and long roots. Some typical species of this region are carob, rosemary, thyme, fig, olive, almond, cardón, cují, among others.
- Chaparrals. They are regions with a dry climate in summer and rainy in winter, it is an ecosystem of heaths, shrubs and short-lived plants, with seeds adapted to extreme temperatures and deep roots. The vegetation tends to be rather sparse, very sparse.
- Bed sheets. They are typical regions of intertropical plains with summer rains, in which the vegetation forms long grasslands of grasses. There are few species of trees and they are typical regions of extensive agriculture and grassland livestock.
- Deserts. They are arid regions with little rainfall, so their vegetation is scarce and low. They usually house plant species that have adapted to extreme climatic conditions, such as thorny plants and some shrubs.
- Forests. They are regions adapted to different temperate and subtropical climates, in which trees of medium and tall height, with thick trunks and deciduous leaves predominate, so the soil tends to be covered with decomposing organic matter. They can be more or less leafy, depending on climatic and humidity conditions.
- Wet jungles They are regions with a humid and warm climate, which have abundant and exuberant vegetation, and are home to an important percentage of the planet's biodiversity. There are many tall trees, with evergreen and leafy leaves, as well as climbing, parasitic and epiphytic plants.
- Tundras. They are regions that are characterized by having a cold climate, receiving little rainfall, strong winds and having scarce vegetation, which is based on mosses, lichens, shrubs and herbs. These regions are located in the extreme north and south of the planet.
Examples of natural regions of the world
Some examples of natural regions in the world are:
- Natural regions of Mexico. The Mexican territory can be divided into phytogeographic regions such as: dry jungle, humid jungle, desert, forests, scrublands and marine region.
- Natural regions of Colombia. The Colombian territory is divided into six natural regions, which are identified by having certain characteristics in terms of vegetation, climate, relief, among others. These regions are: Caribbean region, Andean region, Pacific region, Orinoco region, Amazon region and island region.
- Natural regions of Peru. The Peruvian territory is divided into eight different natural regions, which are mainly characterized by their relief, but also by their climate, vegetation, among other characteristics. These are: coast or chala, yunga, Quechua, Suni or Jalca, puna, cordillera or janca, high jungle or rupa-rupa and low jungle or Amazon.
- Natural regions of Chile The Chilean territory is divided into five natural regions, each of them is made up of territories that have similarities in terms of relief, climate, rainfall, among others. The natural regions of Chile are: Norte Grande, Norte Chico, Central Zone, Southern Zone and Austral Zone.
- Natural regions of Argentina. The Argentine territory is home to phytogeographic regions such as: high Andes, Puna, Yungas jungle, dry Chaco, humid Chaco, spinal, Patagonian steppe, Pampa, Antarctica, Argentine Sea, among many others. The country is also usually divided into the Northwest Region, the Northeast Region, the Pampas Region, the Cuyo Region and the Patagonian Region, but this is usually a geographical classification with a great impact on social, historical and political factors.
- Natural regions of Spain. The Spanish territory can be divided into four areas that have similar environmental conditions. These are: Atlantic Spain, coastal Mediterranean Spain, inland Mediterranean Spain and the Canary Islands.
References
- “Natural regions and biogeography of Mexico” in the National Institute of Geography and Statistics. https://www.inegi.org.mx/
- “The eight natural regions of Peru” at https://journals.openedition.org/
- “The natural zones of Chile” in the Ministry of Education. https://formacionciudadana.mineduc.cl/
- “Ecoregions” in the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/
- “Köppen climate classification” at http://meteo.navarra.es/
