settlement vs geographic area

settlement and geographic area both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
settlement	Yes	No	No	No
geographic area	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, geographic area is a hypernym of settlement; that is, geographic area is a word with a broader meaning than settlement:

Other hypernyms of settlement include geographic region, geographical area, geographical region.

settlement (noun)	geographic area (noun)
termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities	a demarcated area of the Earth
the act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies
something settled or resolved; the outcome of decision making
a conclusive resolution of a matter and disposition of it
a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
a community of people smaller than a town
an area where a group of families live together