Download 5 Themes of Geography

5 Themes of Geography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Location
Place
Region
Human Environment Interaction
Movement
Location: “where is it?”
• Absolute Location:
the exact location of
a place on the earth.
– Hemisphere: earth divided
into equal halves (top to
bottom and left to right)
– Equator: divides top to
bottom (north/south)
– Prime Meridian: divides left
to right (east/west)
• Latitude Lines: run
east-west (E/W) used to
locate places northsouth (N/S) on the
globe.
Equator = 0
degrees
• Longitude Lines: run
north-south (N/S) to
locate places east-west
(E/W) on the globe.
Prime meridian = 0
degrees
• Relative Location:
where something is in
relation to its
surrounding
environment.
Place: “what is it like?”
• What is a place like:
– Physical characteristics: landforms, climate,
vegetation
– Cultural characteristics: religion, traditions, music
clothing, etc…
REGIONS
• How are Regions similar to and different from
other places?
– Formal Regions
• Regions defined by governmental boundaries (States,
Countries, Cities)
• Regions defined by similar characteristics
• Regions defined by a function (newspaper service area,
cell phone coverage area).
Human-Environment Interaction:
“how do people relate to the
physical world?”
• How do people use/abuse their
environment?
– Examples: pollution, farming, water
diversion, deforestation (cutting down
trees)
MOVEMENT
• How are people, goods, ideas moved from
place to place?
– Human Movement
• Trucks, Trains, Planes
– Information Movement
• Phones, computer (email), mail
– Idea Movement
• How do fads move from place to place?
TV, Radio, Magazines