Answer to Question 1
Remember that formal regions are areas distinguished by recognized boundaries that have a shared physical, economic, or cultural characteristic. The example of a formal region given in the book is the part of Canada in which the primary language is French (Quebec), or formally defined areas such as the Corn Belt (an economic region), the Rocky Mountains (a physical region), or areas that share a cultural similarity such as Hip Hop, Bluegrass, or Rockabilly music.
A functional region is a region that usually has a transportation linkage that connects cultural, economic, political, and other characteristics that are interwoven into a functional whole. The book gives the example of Chicago as a distinct urban area that has interrelated characteristics that make it a functional, or nodal, region.
Answer to Question 2
Canada's regional and provincial governments are more self-sustaining than American states; Canada is a Commonwealth country, with the executive and legislative branches connected through the parliament, and where the British monarchy is the official head of government though one with no real power, whereas the United States is a presidential republic with the legislative and executive branches officially separated.
Young American Alligators basking
Juvenile American alligator swimming, showing the distinctive yellow striping found on juveniles
Ethnic Groups of Eastern North America, 1750
North Atlantic Current
Sketch the graph of each function using transformations. State the domain and range.
North American Indigenous Woman