Geographers group places that share common traits. A region is an area of Earth’s surface defined by selected criteria—physical, cultural, economic, or political. Regions help organize spatial information and make comparisons possible.

Formal regions are defined by uniform presence of a feature, such as a climate zone or language area. Functional regions are organized around a central node, such as a metropolitan area linked by commuting. Vernacular regions exist in popular perception, like “the Midwest.”

Boundaries of regions are often gradual rather than sharp. The same territory can belong to different regions depending on the criteria chosen. Regional analysis remains a core method for understanding how phenomena are distributed and interrelated across space.

• Area defined by shared characteristics
• Can be formal, functional, or vernacular
• Used to organize geographic information
• Boundaries often transitional