Ap Human Geography Essay

Recent research into regionalism and economic geography suggests that, in addition to an increasing global flow of ideas, capital, goods and labour, geographical proximity between states may also increase their level of cooperation (Tanja, 2011; Kurian and Vinodan, 2013). According to the Economic Commission for Africa (2006) Regions are subjectively determined (and thus debatable) areas that are perceived to have certain characteristics in common. They may be defined by physical geography; for example, areas bordered by mountains or rivers or seas, or areas which share a similar climate. They may also be defined by characteristics of human geography, such as shared historical experience, the same language, the same religion, or

The Levant, for example, encompasses Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, and is often seen as an important area, in part because of its close historical connection with countries in Europe and around the Mediterranean (See the Map. 3.1 Middle East and North Africa Region: A Geographical Proximity).

The Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman are linked not only by shared history, language and religion, but by the shared opportunities and problems caused by the presence of large oil reserves in these countries. These countries all lie at the eastern edge of the large Arabian plate that tilts down from west to east, thus there are mountainous areas on the western end of the plate and oil deposits concentrated along the eastern edge on the shores of the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, North Africa is a geographic and political sub-division of Africa, consisting of eight nations: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. These seven nations are separated from the rest of Africa geographically by the Sahara Desert, and all other countries in Africa are collectively referred to as Sub-Saharan Africa (Map.