Position of your region
The first step is to say where your region is. There are two kinds of position:
- Absolute position: latitude and longitude, for example about 23° N, 77° E for Bhopal.
- Relative position: where it lies compared with other things: on a river, near the coast, in a valley between hills, 40 km from a large city, on a main railway line.
Relative position often explains a lot: a town on a river crossing becomes a market; a region far from big cities may have fewer jobs.
Also note the region's size (area in km²), its main town or centre and how it is organised for local government (districts, municipalities, villages). Administrative units and their names can change after reforms, so use the latest official list.
Natural conditions and resources
Describe nature in a fixed order, so nothing is missed:
- Relief: plains, hills, valleys; highest and lowest points.
- Rocks and minerals: stone, sand, clay, coal, etc.
- Climate: average temperatures of the warmest and coldest months, yearly rainfall, typical winds and weather hazards.
- Water: rivers, lakes, wells, groundwater.
- Soils and vegetation: fertile or poor soils, forests, grasslands.
- Animals.
A natural resource is any part of nature people use: water for farms, forests for timber, stone for building. Note whether each resource is renewable or not.
Protected areas such as nature reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and natural monuments keep rare plants, animals and landscapes safe. Find out which ones your region has and what they protect.
Population and settlements
Key population facts for a region:
- Size: how many people live there, and whether the number is rising or falling.
- Density = population ÷ area (people per km²).
- Natural change = births − deaths; migration = people moving in − people moving out.
- Composition: ages (children, working-age, elderly), men and women, languages and cultural groups.
- Urban share: what percent live in towns and cities.
Settlements are places where people live. Note their type (city, town, village), size, shape (along a road or river, or clustered) and why they grew there: water, flat land, a crossroads, a mine or a port.
Economy, jobs and services
Jobs fall into three main sectors:
- Primary: taking things from nature: farming, fishing, forestry, mining.
- Secondary: making things: factories, building, power plants.
- Tertiary (services): shops, transport, schools, hospitals, banks, tourism, IT.
The share of workers in each sector tells you what kind of economy the region has. As regions develop, the share of services usually grows.
Social infrastructure means services for people: schools, colleges, hospitals, libraries, sports grounds, transport and internet. Note what is missing or far away.
Culture and tourism: festivals, crafts, languages, places of worship, museums, historic buildings and natural sights. These shape the region's identity and can bring visitors and jobs.
Environment and change over time
Ask how healthy the local environment is: air quality, river and well water, waste, noise, loss of forest or farmland, floods or droughts.
Environmental monitoring means measuring these things again and again: air-quality stations, water tests, tree counts, rainfall gauges. Many local governments publish the results; students can add simple measurements of their own.
Regions change. Towns spread onto farmland (urban sprawl), new roads and railways change how fast people travel, factories open or close, villages empty as young people move to cities. To study change, compare old and new maps, satellite images, photos and population figures, and interview older residents.
Each change has causes and effects, good and bad. A new road brings jobs and faster travel, but also traffic and loss of fields.
How to do a field study of your region
- Ask a question: "How has our market area changed in 20 years?" or "Is the river cleaner upstream or downstream of the town?"
- Plan: what data, where, when, which tools; stay safe and ask permission.
- Collect data: observe and photograph, count (traffic, shops), measure (temperature, water clarity), use questionnaires and interviews.
- Present: sketch maps, tables, bar and line graphs.
- Analyse and conclude: describe patterns, explain them, answer the question.
- Evaluate and suggest: what could be improved, and what should the region do next?
Use relief or land-use sketches without political borders, and always name your sources.
Try it
In the 3D: in free play choose the Environment layer. Move the year from 1980 to 2025 and write the forest cover and river quality for each. What changed, and why might it have changed?
At home: walk 500 m around your home. Draw a sketch map with north at the top and mark houses, shops, green spaces and water. Count the shops by type (food, clothes, services). Ask an older family member what the area looked like 20 years ago.
Key formulas and definitions
- Population density = population ÷ area (people/km²)
- Natural change = births − deaths
- Net migration = people moving in − people moving out
- Population change = natural change + net migration
- Sector share (%) = workers in a sector ÷ all workers × 100
- Region profile = position + nature + people + economy + environment + change
Worked examples
1. A district has 840,000 people and an area of 2,100 km². Find its population density.
Density = 840,000 ÷ 2,100 = 400 people per km².
2. In one year a town has 1,800 births, 1,100 deaths, 900 people moving in and 1,300 moving out. Find the natural change, net migration and total change.
Natural change = 1,800 − 1,100 = +700. Net migration = 900 − 1,300 = −400. Total change = 700 − 400 = +300 people.
3. Of 50,000 workers, 12,000 work in farming, 9,000 in industry and the rest in services. Find each sector's share. What does it tell you?
Farming = 12,000 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 24%. Industry = 18%. Services = 29,000 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 58%. Most people work in services, so the region is fairly developed, but farming is still important.
4. Describe the relative position of a town that lies on a river, 30 km south of a big city, at the foot of hills.
"The town lies in a river valley at the foot of hills, about 30 km south of a big city." This tells a reader about water supply, flat land for building, a nearby market and possible jobs in the city.
5. Plan a short field study to answer: "Is traffic heavier near the school in the morning or the afternoon?"
Choose one safe spot. Count vehicles for 10 minutes at 8:00, 12:00 and 15:00 on three school days, using a tally sheet by vehicle type. Show results in a bar graph, compare the times, explain the pattern (school start, office hours) and suggest an idea, such as a walking bus.
6. Old maps show farmland where a housing estate now stands. Give two causes and two effects of this change.
Causes: the town's population grew; a new road made travel to the city easy. Effects: more homes and shops (good), but loss of farmland and more traffic and runoff (bad).
Common mistakes
- Giving only latitude and longitude. Relative position (river, hills, nearby city, transport routes) explains much more.
- Listing facts without links. Explain why: towns grow on flat land near water; jobs depend on resources and transport.
- Mixing up density and population size. A small region can have a high density with fewer people in total.
- Using one source only. Check data from official statistics, maps and your own field observations, and name the source and year.