Download Five fundamental themes of geography

Course Overview
EdSc 143- Elements of Geography
(3 hours lecture/week)
Deals with man and his habitat. This includes the use of
the world atlas, map reading and interpretation, study
of the physical elements of geography and the cultural
aspects of geography.
Jun Karren V. Caparoso
Department of Science and Mathematics
Education
College of Education
MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology
What is Geography?
Geography is a very diverse subject
that includes studies of human
behaviour and the physical
environment.
It is also a discipline that embraces a
very diverse range of philosophical
approaches to knowledge.
What is Geography?
The study of spatial variation
How – and why – things differ from
place to place on the surface of the
earth
The study of how observable spatial
patterns evolved through time
What is Geography?
Geography is a spatial science
Spatial behavior of people
Spatial relationships between
places
Spatial processes that create or
maintain those behaviors and
relationships
Spatial variation: predominant religion
Why spatial variation exists: earthquakes
Changes over time: deforestation
Five fundamental themes of geography
1) Location: the meaning of relative and
absolute position on the earth's surface
 Sample terms: Latitude and longitude, site
and situation, direction, distance, scale
 Skills: Map reading, identification
 Questions: Where is ____? Where is ____
relative to where I am?
Five fundamental themes of geography
2) Place: the distinctive and distinguishing
physical and human characteristics of
locales
 Sample terms: Physical and cultural
landscapes, sense of place
 Skills: Description, compare and contrast
 Questions: What does ____ look like?
Why? How is it different from ____?
Five fundamental themes of geography
3) Relationships within places: the
development and consequences of humanenvironment relationships
 Sample terms: Ecosystems, natural
resources, environmental pollution
 Skills: Evaluation, analysis
 Questions: What human-environment
relationships are occurring? How do they
affect the place and its inhabitants?
Five fundamental themes of geography
4) Movement: patterns and change in human
spatial interaction on the earth
 Sample terms: Migration, diffusion,
globalization
 Skills: Explanation, prediction
 Questions: How has this spatial pattern
developed? Will it continue to change?
What does it mean for the places involved?
Five fundamental themes of geography
5) Regions: how they form and change
 Sample terms: Formal vs. functional
regions
 Skills: Synthesis, application
 Questions: How has this spatial pattern
developed? Will it continue to change?
What does it mean for the places involved?
Sharing
• Where were you born?
• Where do you live?
• Where’s the most beautiful place
you’ve ever been?
Divisions of Geography
1.Physical Geography
 explains the spatial characteristics of the various
natural phenomena associated with the Earth's
hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and
lithosphere.
2. Human Geography/Cultural Geography
 combines economic and cultural geography to
explore the relationships between humans and
their natural environment, and to track the broad
social patterns that shape human societies.
Physical geography's primary
subdisplines
study of Earth's atmosphere
(meteorology and climatology),
animal and plant life (biogeography),
physical landscape (geomorphology),
soils (pedology), and
waters (hydrology).
Human geography's primary
subdisplines
Human society and culture (social
and cultural geography),
behavior (behavioural geography),
economics (economic geography),
politics (political geography), and
urban systems (urban geography).
Major subdisciplines of physical and human
geography.
Some Elements of Geography
Physical Geography
Human Geography
Rocks and Minerals
Population
Landforms
Settlements
Soils
Economic Activities
Animals
Transportation
Plants
Recreational Activities
Water
Religion
Atmosphere
Political Systems
Rivers and Other Water Bodies
Social Traditions
Environment
Human Migration
Climate and Weather
Agricultural Systems
Oceans
Urban Systems