The CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region that is made up islands in the Caribbean Sea. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and north of South America. The region is more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. The Caribbean islands are usually considered part of North America.

The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies: some islands in the region have flat terrain. Others have rugged, towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. The climate of the area is tropical to subtropical. This means the average temperature rarely goes lower at 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm, moist trade winds blow consistently from the east, creating islands that have both rain forests and semi-desert environments. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first six months. Hurricane season is from June to November, but they occur more frequently in August and September.

There are six main languages in the Caribbean: Spanish, French, English, Dutch, Haitian Creole, and Papiamento. The official language varies from island to island and country to country. For example: Spanish is the official language in the Dominican Republic while French is the official language of Haiti. It is due to differences like this that make some experts argue that the Caribbean should not be considered a region. Others say that the countries and islands on the Caribbean have more in similarities than differences. They point to the fact that, even though the Dominican Republic and Haiti speak different languages, they both exist on the same island.

The Balkans

The Balkans, or the Balkan Peninsula, is a cultural area in Eastern and Southeastern Europe with disputed about its borders. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the Serbian-Bulgarian border to the Black Sea.

The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the northwest, the Ionian Sea on the southwest, the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea on the south and southeast, and the Black Sea on the east and northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is debated.

Most of the area is covered by mountain ranges running from the northwest to southeast. Two of the main ranges are the Balkan mountains, running from the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria to Serbia, and the Rhodope mountains in southern Bulgaria and northern Greece. In the northern part of the peninsula and on the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. In the southern part winters are milder. Along the coastlines, there are rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

The Balkans have a long, complicated history because European countries and Middle-eastern countries often waged war in the Balkans to determine who could hold the most influence. Currently all of the states are republics, but until World War II all countries were monarchies. Most of these republics have Parliaments, another type of Legislature, that create and pass laws for the people. The Balkans speak a wide variety of languages with no one language dominating the others. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the main religion in most Balkan countries, but several have Islam as their dominant religion.

North AfricaNorth Africa is a group of countries located in the northern-most region of Africa. This region includes the countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, as well as Libya, Sudan, and Egypt.The countries of North Africa share a common culture, history, and language. The region has distinctly Arabic and Muslim cultures.

The separation between North Africa and the rest of Africa is due to the Sahara Desert. The Sahara was not always a desert but, beginning in about 3500 BCE (over 5,000 years ago), the Earth’s orbit underwent gradual changes. These changes caused the temperature of the Sahara to rise, a process that caused trees to wither, rivers to dry up, and several species of dinosaur to go extinct. The Sahara desert became a barrier separating North Africa from the rest of the continent.

However, because North Africa borders the Mediterranean Sea, civilizations like the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Muslims began trading with groups along the North African coast. These trade routes connected North Africa with Europe and Southwest Asia, causing ideas and goods to spread. Islam spread into North Africa as well, and even today North Africa is a large member of the worldwide Muslim community.

Today, most people in North Africa speak Arabic, although there are many local languages spoken throughout North Africa. Each country, from Morocco to Algeria to Egypt, has their own dialect or version of Arabic. The largest divide in the region is between the people of Northwest Africa, whose relatives were a group called the

Berbers, and the people of Northeast Africa, whose relatives were the Egyptians.

Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia is a region of Asia that is made up of the countries that are south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. Southeast Asia is actually divided into two regions: Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia. Maritime means “connected to the sea,” so it makes sense that Maritime Southeast Asia is actually a large group of islands that very close to one another. Mainland Southeast Asia are countries that are connected to the main continent of Asia.

Maritime Southeast Asia is set on a large volcanic plate which causes quite a bit of volcanic activity. Erupting, underwater volcanoes and earthquakes are common throughout Maritime Southeast Asia. Mainland Southeast Asia is home to several mountain ranges.

Since most of Southeast Asia exists on the sea or near the coast, traders have shipped their goods through the region for centuries. In fact the term "Southeast Asia" was first used in 1839 by an American pastor named Howard Malcolm in his book titled Travels in South-Eastern Asia. Malcolm only wrote about the Mainland section and did not include the Maritime section in his definition of Southeast Asia. These traders wanted rare, exoctic spicers from Indonesia and were willing to pay high prices for these goods.

The traders not only brought goods: they brought their religious ideas with them. Hindu and Islam have competed throughout history with one another for which would become the main religion of the region.

Even today, Southeast Asia has a diverse group of religions; no one religion has an overall majority.