hinterland

Hinterland is the area under the influence of a particular human settlement.

The word comes from a German word meaning 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his Handbook of Commercial Geography (1888). Originally the term was associated with the area of a port in which materials for export and import are stored and shipped. Subsequently, the use of the word expanded to its current use.