1. Chapter 2 Cultural Regions in Our World
Exploring Culture
Chapter 2
Cultural Regions in Our World

2. What is a cultural region?
an area where people share a distinct (noticeably different) way of life
ex.) Atlantic Canada (NL, PEI, NS, NB) could be considered a cultural region
ex.) your own community could be a cultural region
ex.) an entire country could be a cultural region

3. Terminology GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL FEATURES REGION
the study of the Earth, its people, and the relationships among them
PHYSICAL FEATURES
landforms (mountains, rivers, lakes,…)
climate
soil
natural vegetation
REGION
a large or small part of the Earth that has similar features
the features can be physical, cultural (studying people), or both

4. MAPS
important tool used by geographers to show many types of information about people and places
4 Basic MAP Features:
(1). Title
(2). Direction (north, south east, west) …sometimes a compass rose is used
(3). Scale…used to find actual distances on Earth
(4). Legend…patterns, colors, symbols
of a map are explained

5. Thematic Map
shows patterns for one type of information about an area, such as a province or country
information could be about population, climate, etc.
colors/symbols used to show patterns

6. Mental Map
a person’s own way of seeing/imagining something…an individual’s view of the world
… ‘a personal map of where you live’

7. How can we identify a cultural region?
(1). Language
an area where people speak the same language
(2). Government
an area where people share a similar form of government (note: we have a democracy)
(3). Technology
an area where people use a certain type of technology
(ex. farm machinery)
(4). History
an area where people have a shared history (Ex. Acadian communities in Atlantic Canada…p.27 of text)
(5). Economy
an area where a common economy is evident (ex. years ago much of rural Newfoundland had an economy based on the fishery)
(6). Beliefs and Values
an area where a certain religion predominates (ex. Christianity, Islam, etc….see p.29 of text)

8. Cultural Diversity
many small regions and large regions can be culturally diverse or varied…aspects of many different cultures may be evident in a certain region
Canada is often described as a cultural melting pot