Time Zones and RegionsWhat are they?

A diverse worldThe world is full of different

things: cultures, landforms, cities, landscapes, climates, traditions etc

Geographers use different tools to categorize these different aspects

One way: time zonesThe world is divided into 24 time

zones.Each one is worth one hour

change.The international dateline is

where the day of the week changes.

The World Time Zones

Canada Time Zones Canada uses six primary time

zones. From east to west they are Newfoundland Time Zone, Atlantic Time Zone, Eastern Time, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, and the Pacific Time Zone.

Each one is worth one hour except for Newfoundland which is worth 30 minutes

Another way is though regionsRegions are areas or segments of

the earth’s surface defined by a particular characteristic or set of characteristics.

For example, a region can be defined based on climate or physical background (such as deserts)

Let’s look at small scale regions first…Suppose the buildings in different

parts of a town were built at different periods of history. The buildings in each part of town may have been built in different styles and with different building materials. If you put all of those styles on a map there would be different patterns emerging.

-micro regions or mini regions are we call the town’s neighbourhood

Ottawa’s micro regions

Physical and Human Characteristics

Regions

Global Connections (Physical)• Latitude• longitude

Physical environment

(Physical)• Climate

• Soil• Vegetation• Landforms

• wildlife

Culture (Human)• Language• Ethnicity• Religion

• Social customs• History

• Art, architecture, sports etc

Economy (Human)• Industries/services

• Resources• Levels of income

Political Identity (Human)

• Boundaries• Beliefs

• International relations

Demographics (Human)

• Size of population• Distribution

• Density• Movement (migration)

Global Connections (Physical) Latitude longitudePhysical environment (Physical)

◦Climate◦Soil◦Vegetation◦Landforms ◦wildlife

Culture (Human) Language Ethnicity Religion Social customs History Art, architecture, sports etc

Economy (Human) Industries/services Resources Levels of incomePolitical Identity (Human)

◦Boundaries◦Beliefs◦International relations

Demographics (Human) Size of population Distribution Density Movement (migration)

Large Scale RegionsMacro-regions: large scale regionExample: Canada’s 15 terrestrial

ecozones◦Looks at a mixture of human and

physical characteristics

Describing RegionsSmall scale vs large scaleHomogenous Region vs

Functional RegionHomogenous Region: a common

characteristic or set of characteristics throughout its whole area (eg Africa: Climate: hot dry in dessert)

Functional Region: an area defined by a specific function or activity (eg an area where newspapers get delivered)

Comparing RegionsComparing regions can be helpful

when deciding on where to travel◦Looks at travel destinations pros and

cons◦Tourism issues in areas

We are going to look at world regions….Caribbean AustraliaSouth AmericaAfricaEuropeAsiaCanada and North America