diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 706682fbf1..ec280dddc3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Extending the adopted spec, each change should have a link to its corresponding
 ## [Unreleased]
 ### Added
 
+* Made `region` variable optional for zonal clusters [#247]
 * Added `grant_registry_access` variable to grant Container Registry access to created SA [#236]
 * Support for Intranode Visbiility (IV) and Veritical Pod Autoscaling (VPA) beta features [#216]
 * Support for Workload Identity beta feature [#234]
@@ -170,6 +171,7 @@ Extending the adopted spec, each change should have a link to its corresponding
 [v0.3.0]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/compare/v0.2.0...v0.3.0
 [v0.2.0]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/compare/v0.1.0...v0.2.0
 
+[#247]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/pull/247
 [#236]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/pull/236
 [#217]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/pull/217
 [#234]: https://github.com/terraform-google-modules/terraform-google-kubernetes-engine/pull/234
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f38023e600..4f92ede67e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ In either case, upgrading to module version `v1.0.0` will trigger a recreation o
 | node\_version | The Kubernetes version of the node pools. Defaults kubernetes_version (master) variable and can be overridden for individual node pools by setting the `version` key on them. Must be empyty or set the same as master at cluster creation. | string | `""` | no |
 | non\_masquerade\_cidrs | List of strings in CIDR notation that specify the IP address ranges that do not use IP masquerading. | list(string) | `<list>` | no |
 | project\_id | The project ID to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
-| region | The region to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
+| region | The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional) | string | `"null"` | no |
 | regional | Whether is a regional cluster (zonal cluster if set false. WARNING: changing this after cluster creation is destructive!) | bool | `"true"` | no |
 | remove\_default\_node\_pool | Remove default node pool while setting up the cluster | bool | `"false"` | no |
 | service\_account | The service account to run nodes as if not overridden in `node_pools`. The create_service_account variable default value (true) will cause a cluster-specific service account to be created. | string | `""` | no |
diff --git a/autogen/main.tf b/autogen/main.tf
index 9d6476b916..e020abdc25 100644
--- a/autogen/main.tf
+++ b/autogen/main.tf
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ data "google_compute_zones" "available" {
   {% endif %}
 
   project = var.project_id
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
 }
 
 resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
 locals {
   // location
   location = var.regional ? var.region : var.zones[0]
+  region   = var.region == null ? join("-", slice(split("-", var.zones[0]), 0, 2)) : var.region
   // for regional cluster - use var.zones if provided, use available otherwise, for zonal cluster use var.zones with first element extracted
   node_locations = var.regional ? coalescelist(compact(var.zones), sort(random_shuffle.available_zones.result)) : slice(var.zones, 1, length(var.zones))
   // kuberentes version
diff --git a/autogen/networks.tf b/autogen/networks.tf
index 19a9af5307..84baaa8995 100644
--- a/autogen/networks.tf
+++ b/autogen/networks.tf
@@ -35,6 +35,6 @@ data "google_compute_subnetwork" "gke_subnetwork" {
   {% endif %}
 
   name    = var.subnetwork
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
   project = local.network_project_id
 }
diff --git a/autogen/variables.tf b/autogen/variables.tf
index 9a956194e0..46f34d3074 100644
--- a/autogen/variables.tf
+++ b/autogen/variables.tf
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ variable "regional" {
 
 variable "region" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The region to host the cluster in (required)"
+  description = "The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional)"
+  default     = null
 }
 
 variable "zones" {
diff --git a/main.tf b/main.tf
index b63d60f884..a9e1c15810 100644
--- a/main.tf
+++ b/main.tf
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ data "google_compute_zones" "available" {
   provider = google
 
   project = var.project_id
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
 }
 
 resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
 locals {
   // location
   location = var.regional ? var.region : var.zones[0]
+  region   = var.region == null ? join("-", slice(split("-", var.zones[0]), 0, 2)) : var.region
   // for regional cluster - use var.zones if provided, use available otherwise, for zonal cluster use var.zones with first element extracted
   node_locations = var.regional ? coalescelist(compact(var.zones), sort(random_shuffle.available_zones.result)) : slice(var.zones, 1, length(var.zones))
   // kuberentes version
diff --git a/modules/beta-private-cluster/README.md b/modules/beta-private-cluster/README.md
index eba9f48d31..4fe5c70dc8 100644
--- a/modules/beta-private-cluster/README.md
+++ b/modules/beta-private-cluster/README.md
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ In either case, upgrading to module version `v1.0.0` will trigger a recreation o
 | non\_masquerade\_cidrs | List of strings in CIDR notation that specify the IP address ranges that do not use IP masquerading. | list(string) | `<list>` | no |
 | pod\_security\_policy\_config | enabled - Enable the PodSecurityPolicy controller for this cluster. If enabled, pods must be valid under a PodSecurityPolicy to be created. | list | `<list>` | no |
 | project\_id | The project ID to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
-| region | The region to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
+| region | The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional) | string | `"null"` | no |
 | regional | Whether is a regional cluster (zonal cluster if set false. WARNING: changing this after cluster creation is destructive!) | bool | `"true"` | no |
 | remove\_default\_node\_pool | Remove default node pool while setting up the cluster | bool | `"false"` | no |
 | service\_account | The service account to run nodes as if not overridden in `node_pools`. The create_service_account variable default value (true) will cause a cluster-specific service account to be created. | string | `""` | no |
diff --git a/modules/beta-private-cluster/main.tf b/modules/beta-private-cluster/main.tf
index 43fea3b6dc..8c88b8936d 100644
--- a/modules/beta-private-cluster/main.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-private-cluster/main.tf
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ data "google_compute_zones" "available" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   project = var.project_id
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
 }
 
 resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
 locals {
   // location
   location = var.regional ? var.region : var.zones[0]
+  region   = var.region == null ? join("-", slice(split("-", var.zones[0]), 0, 2)) : var.region
   // for regional cluster - use var.zones if provided, use available otherwise, for zonal cluster use var.zones with first element extracted
   node_locations = var.regional ? coalescelist(compact(var.zones), sort(random_shuffle.available_zones.result)) : slice(var.zones, 1, length(var.zones))
   // kuberentes version
diff --git a/modules/beta-private-cluster/networks.tf b/modules/beta-private-cluster/networks.tf
index 14ea500e03..2456654130 100644
--- a/modules/beta-private-cluster/networks.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-private-cluster/networks.tf
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ data "google_compute_subnetwork" "gke_subnetwork" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   name    = var.subnetwork
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
   project = local.network_project_id
 }
diff --git a/modules/beta-private-cluster/variables.tf b/modules/beta-private-cluster/variables.tf
index 6aa50eafff..6d1fa393ce 100644
--- a/modules/beta-private-cluster/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-private-cluster/variables.tf
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ variable "regional" {
 
 variable "region" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The region to host the cluster in (required)"
+  description = "The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional)"
+  default     = null
 }
 
 variable "zones" {
diff --git a/modules/beta-public-cluster/README.md b/modules/beta-public-cluster/README.md
index 49ffddedc1..75a7e55188 100644
--- a/modules/beta-public-cluster/README.md
+++ b/modules/beta-public-cluster/README.md
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ In either case, upgrading to module version `v1.0.0` will trigger a recreation o
 | non\_masquerade\_cidrs | List of strings in CIDR notation that specify the IP address ranges that do not use IP masquerading. | list(string) | `<list>` | no |
 | pod\_security\_policy\_config | enabled - Enable the PodSecurityPolicy controller for this cluster. If enabled, pods must be valid under a PodSecurityPolicy to be created. | list | `<list>` | no |
 | project\_id | The project ID to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
-| region | The region to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
+| region | The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional) | string | `"null"` | no |
 | regional | Whether is a regional cluster (zonal cluster if set false. WARNING: changing this after cluster creation is destructive!) | bool | `"true"` | no |
 | remove\_default\_node\_pool | Remove default node pool while setting up the cluster | bool | `"false"` | no |
 | service\_account | The service account to run nodes as if not overridden in `node_pools`. The create_service_account variable default value (true) will cause a cluster-specific service account to be created. | string | `""` | no |
diff --git a/modules/beta-public-cluster/main.tf b/modules/beta-public-cluster/main.tf
index db5138e99f..4b1edff890 100644
--- a/modules/beta-public-cluster/main.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-public-cluster/main.tf
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ data "google_compute_zones" "available" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   project = var.project_id
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
 }
 
 resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
 locals {
   // location
   location = var.regional ? var.region : var.zones[0]
+  region   = var.region == null ? join("-", slice(split("-", var.zones[0]), 0, 2)) : var.region
   // for regional cluster - use var.zones if provided, use available otherwise, for zonal cluster use var.zones with first element extracted
   node_locations = var.regional ? coalescelist(compact(var.zones), sort(random_shuffle.available_zones.result)) : slice(var.zones, 1, length(var.zones))
   // kuberentes version
diff --git a/modules/beta-public-cluster/networks.tf b/modules/beta-public-cluster/networks.tf
index 14ea500e03..2456654130 100644
--- a/modules/beta-public-cluster/networks.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-public-cluster/networks.tf
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ data "google_compute_subnetwork" "gke_subnetwork" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   name    = var.subnetwork
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
   project = local.network_project_id
 }
diff --git a/modules/beta-public-cluster/variables.tf b/modules/beta-public-cluster/variables.tf
index d8b68de69b..7873500f6e 100644
--- a/modules/beta-public-cluster/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/beta-public-cluster/variables.tf
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ variable "regional" {
 
 variable "region" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The region to host the cluster in (required)"
+  description = "The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional)"
+  default     = null
 }
 
 variable "zones" {
diff --git a/modules/private-cluster/README.md b/modules/private-cluster/README.md
index d3044b770d..48ffa5b508 100644
--- a/modules/private-cluster/README.md
+++ b/modules/private-cluster/README.md
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ In either case, upgrading to module version `v1.0.0` will trigger a recreation o
 | node\_version | The Kubernetes version of the node pools. Defaults kubernetes_version (master) variable and can be overridden for individual node pools by setting the `version` key on them. Must be empyty or set the same as master at cluster creation. | string | `""` | no |
 | non\_masquerade\_cidrs | List of strings in CIDR notation that specify the IP address ranges that do not use IP masquerading. | list(string) | `<list>` | no |
 | project\_id | The project ID to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
-| region | The region to host the cluster in (required) | string | n/a | yes |
+| region | The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional) | string | `"null"` | no |
 | regional | Whether is a regional cluster (zonal cluster if set false. WARNING: changing this after cluster creation is destructive!) | bool | `"true"` | no |
 | remove\_default\_node\_pool | Remove default node pool while setting up the cluster | bool | `"false"` | no |
 | service\_account | The service account to run nodes as if not overridden in `node_pools`. The create_service_account variable default value (true) will cause a cluster-specific service account to be created. | string | `""` | no |
diff --git a/modules/private-cluster/main.tf b/modules/private-cluster/main.tf
index 9c8dc629eb..85744dc006 100644
--- a/modules/private-cluster/main.tf
+++ b/modules/private-cluster/main.tf
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ data "google_compute_zones" "available" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   project = var.project_id
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
 }
 
 resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ resource "random_shuffle" "available_zones" {
 locals {
   // location
   location = var.regional ? var.region : var.zones[0]
+  region   = var.region == null ? join("-", slice(split("-", var.zones[0]), 0, 2)) : var.region
   // for regional cluster - use var.zones if provided, use available otherwise, for zonal cluster use var.zones with first element extracted
   node_locations = var.regional ? coalescelist(compact(var.zones), sort(random_shuffle.available_zones.result)) : slice(var.zones, 1, length(var.zones))
   // kuberentes version
diff --git a/modules/private-cluster/networks.tf b/modules/private-cluster/networks.tf
index 14ea500e03..2456654130 100644
--- a/modules/private-cluster/networks.tf
+++ b/modules/private-cluster/networks.tf
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ data "google_compute_subnetwork" "gke_subnetwork" {
   provider = google-beta
 
   name    = var.subnetwork
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
   project = local.network_project_id
 }
diff --git a/modules/private-cluster/variables.tf b/modules/private-cluster/variables.tf
index 407787f143..65edafd095 100644
--- a/modules/private-cluster/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/private-cluster/variables.tf
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ variable "regional" {
 
 variable "region" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The region to host the cluster in (required)"
+  description = "The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional)"
+  default     = null
 }
 
 variable "zones" {
diff --git a/networks.tf b/networks.tf
index a382073dc0..aae034eee5 100644
--- a/networks.tf
+++ b/networks.tf
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ data "google_compute_subnetwork" "gke_subnetwork" {
   provider = google
 
   name    = var.subnetwork
-  region  = var.region
+  region  = local.region
   project = local.network_project_id
 }
diff --git a/variables.tf b/variables.tf
index d8c339b50e..f74396e29e 100644
--- a/variables.tf
+++ b/variables.tf
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ variable "regional" {
 
 variable "region" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The region to host the cluster in (required)"
+  description = "The region to host the cluster in (optional if zonal cluster / required if regional)"
+  default     = null
 }
 
 variable "zones" {