Gulf States vs geographic area

Gulf States and geographic area both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Gulf States	Yes	No	No	No
geographic area	Yes	No	No	No

Gulf States (noun)	geographic area (noun)
a region of the United States comprising states bordering the Gulf of Mexico; Alabama and Florida and Louisiana and Mississippi and Texas	a demarcated area of the Earth
the countries in southwestern Asia that border the Persian Gulf