The parallels of latitude divide the earth into different temperature zones or belts corresponding to different kinds of climate, such as:

1. Torrid Zone
2. Frigid Zone
3. Temperate Zone

The Torrid Zone is the region lying between 23'/2° north and 23 '/2°' south of the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
It is the hottest zone because the sun's rays fall almost vertical on this region.

There are two frigid zones:
1.North Frigid Zone:
The region lying between 66' 1/2° north and 90° north from the Arctic Circle to the North Pole.
It is an extremely cold belt and has the coldest climate throughout the year.
2.South Frigid Zone:
The region lying between 66' 1/2° south and 90° south between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole.
It is also extremely cold throughout the year. In both these zones the sun's rays are excluded entirely for at least one whole day in a year.

There are two temperate zones, viz.:
1.North Temperate Zone:
The region lying between 23 '/2° north (Tropic of Cancer) and 66'/2°'north (Arctic Circle) is the North Temperate Zone.
2. South Temperate Zone:
The region lying between 23'/2° south (Tropic of Capricorn) and 66'/2° south (Antarctic Circle) is the South Temperate Zone.
Both these zones have a marked annual range of temperature and are neither too hot nor too cold.

The frigid zones have the coldest climate.
The torrid zones have the hottest climate.
The temperate zones are neither too hot nor too cold.

A natural region is a geographical unit, which contains countries or parts of countries with almost uniform conditions of temperature, rainfall and cultivated and natural vegetation.
The world is divided into three main climatic zones, viz,:

1. Hot climatic regions
2. Temperate climatic regions
3. Cold climatic regions

There are four Hot climatic regions:

1. Equatorial Regions(Hot belt)
2. Summer Climatic Regions
3. Monsoon Climatic Regions
4. Hot Desert Climatic Regions

Regions:
Regions between 0° and 5° north and south of the Equator. These include: Amazon' basin In South America, West Indies Congo' Basin and Guinea Coast In Africa and parts of Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Features:
As the sun's rays fall perpendicular to this region, the temperature remains high (27°C) throughout the year. Rainfall is also very heavy (2000-2500 mm).
Vegetation:
Evergreen dense forests, rubber trees, cocoa, groundnuts, palm trees. The population is sparse (except Indonesia).

Regions:
Both sides of the equator, about 5° north and 5° south of the equator to the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Typical Areas:
Venezuela, Guyana (South America), Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, Uganda and Kenya (Africa), South interior Brazil (South America). Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania (Africa).
Features:
Sufficiently hot throughout the summer followed by a long, dry season. Summers are hot and moist, and winters are warm and dry. Rainfall is for a short spell during the hottest season followed by a long dry spell. It is also called ' Sudan or Savanina type or tropical grassland type.
Vegetation:
Fairly dense forests with tall trees. Crops like maize, cotton, bananas and groundnut are largely grown; coffee & sugarcane are grown in areas which receive heavy rainfall.
Most common animals are:
Zebra, Buffalo, Antelope, Giraffe, etc. Natives are mostly engaged in hunting, cattle rearing and agriculture.

Regions:
South-east Asia including portions of Australia, Africa and America.
Typical Areas:
India, Pakistan, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Indo-China, Vietnam, parts of Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Philippines and North Australia.
Features:
Temperature is comparatively high throughout the year with clearly marked wet and dry seasons (summer, rainy and winter seasons).Climate is hot and moist in summer and warm and dry in winter. The heaviest rainfall occurs during the hot season.
Vegetation:
The chief occupation here is agriculture. Crops cultivated are food crops like rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, oilseeds, tea and cotton, tobacco and jute. The monsoon regions are the most densely populated region in the world.

Regions:
The regions lie roughly 29-30° north and south of the equator on the western sides of continents situated near the Tropics. Hot deserts occupy about one fourth of the land surface area
Typical Areas:
South California (USA), North and West Mexico (North America), the Sahara (North Africa) Atacama , ( South America), Kalahari (South Africa), the Western Australian desert, the Thar or Indian Desert and the Desert of Arabia.
Features:
Always very hot and dry, hot and dry winds blow in the afternoon; great change of temperature between day and mid night-days are hot, nights are cold.
Vegetation:
Cereals like wheat, maize, millet (in some areas only), date palm, cotton, tobacco and dry fruits are grown.
Minerals:
Gold, Silver, copper and diamonds. Human activity is confined to the oasis and wells.

There are five Temperate Climatic Regions

1. Mediterranean Climatic Regions
2. China Type Climatic Regions(Temperate Monsoon)
3. Steppe Type Climatic Regions
4. North-West European Type Climatic Regions
5. Laurentian Type Climatic Regions

Regions:
The region between 30° and 45° north and south of the equator particularly, on the western side of land masses and around the Mediterranean Sea.
Typical Areas:
Northern California, Portugal, Spain, Southern France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Central Chile (South America), Cape Province (Africa) and south-west Australia.
Features:
Summers are hot and dry, winters are mild and moist. Mediterranean regions receive rain in winter with an annual rainfall of about 20-40 inches.
Vegetation:
Olive trees and citrus fruits are most common in these regions. Wheat is cultivated in these area. These are called the regions of the three viz, ie., Wheat, Wool and Wine.

Regions:
Temperate monsoon climates are found on the eastern side of land masses between 30° and 45° covering areas situated in the interior of large continents of Asia and North America.
Typical Areas:
South-east United States, North and Central China, New South Wales, eastern Victoria, northern New Zealand and Japan.
Vegetation:
The chief occupation is agriculture and silk rearing. Japan is largely industrial. Food crops like rice and tea are grown over hill slopes. Corn, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, millets and wheat are also grown in some areas.

These are also called Temperate Grasslands
Regions:
This region lies in the interior of great land masses both in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Typical Areas:
Prairies (North America) the Steppes (Eurasia) in the northern hemisphere, the Pampas (South America), the Velds (Africa), the Downs (Australia) in the southern hemisphere.
Features:
Winters are long and severe and summers short, but warm. A rainfall of nearly 20 inches which occurs in spring and early summer.
Vegetation:
Large grasslands. Wheat and maize are cultivated. Sheep and goats are reared. People of the Steppe region are called 'Kirghis', who are mostly nomadic. Mostly grass eating animals like horses, ass, sheep etc. are found here.

Regions:
This region lies between 45° and 60° north and south of the Equator on the western side of land masses.
Typical Areas:
British, Columbia, Canada, Northwest Europe including British Isles, south-western Scandinavia, Denmark, the Netherlands Belgium, western Germany, north-western France, northern Spain, southern Chile, Tasmania and southern islands of New Zealand.
Features:
Cool summers and mild winters with low range temperature and a well-distributed rainfall throughout the year.
Vegetation:
Deciduous forests form the natural vegetation. Wheat, barley and oilseeds are the main crops cultivated in this region. Countries here are industrially advanced and agriculture is carried out by scientific means.

Regions:
This region lies between 45° and 60° to the north of the Equator along the eastern margins of the land masses.
Typical Areas:
Eastern Canada, north-eastern United States, south-eastern Siberia, Manchuria and northern Japan.
Features:
Winters are cold, summers are warm and there is a well -distributed rainfall throughout the year.
Vegetation:
Mixed deciduous and coniferous trees. Wheat, barley, oats, maize, soybeans and potatoes are cultivated. Densely populated and industrially well-developed countries.

There are two Cold Climatic Regions:

1. Siberian Type Climatic Regions
2. Tundra Type Climatic Regions

Regions:
Northern Europe, northern Asia and northern Canada, in the Frigid Temperature belt.
Typical Areas:
Siberia, Finland, Scandinavia and surrounding areas.
Features:
Winters are extremely severe, when temperature falls below 0°C.Summers are warm and temperature remains around 18°C. Rainfall is in the summer.
Vegetation:
Evergreen coniferous forests in some areas which supply raw material for the paper industry. In the upper regions reindeer is the most common animal and of great use to the local inhabitants. Wood cutting is the chief occupation.

Regions:
This region lies to the north of the Taiga beyond 66 1/2° north latitude.
Typical areas:
The northern lowlands of Eurasia, north Canada, Alaska, Greenland and the North Pole.
Features:
The climate is extremely cold and most of the regions under this type of climate are covered with snow almost all the year round. There is scanty rainfall. Winters are long and summers are short. Summer temperature is around 10-12°C. Rainfall is usually under 25 cm.
The only animal which can exist here is the reindeer. People lead a nomadic life and are called Eskimos.

Natural resources are classified into two:

1. Biotic Resources
2. Abiotic Resources

Biotic resourcesor renewable resources consists of living things such as forest and their products, agricultural crops, animals, fodder, wild and domestic animals.
Abiotic resourcesconsists of non-living things like minerals and fuel, which are mostly non-renewable.

These resources can be further classified as follows:

1. Agricultural Crops
2. Minerals