Download 5 Themes of Geography PP - Hewlett

5 themes of
geography
Mrs. DelGrosso /Ms. West
Geographers have created
five themes of geography,
which are used to help you
think like a geographer.
LOCATION
In geography, location means knowing where you
are.
There are two kinds of location:
• Absolute location is the exact position of a
place on the globe. We can use latitude and
longitude to locate these places.
• Relative location is finding a place by
describing where a place is in relation to
another place. (using direction words,
distance words, near, far)
REGION
A region is a "world within a world" - an
area with certain characteristics that make
it distinct from surrounding areas.
There are two kinds of regions:
• Physical regions: a land area with
common features such as landscape or
climate.
• Cultural regions: an area defined by its
human traits such as language, religion,
or the jobs people do.
Regions can be large or small.
PLACE
In geography, a place is one particular, unique
location.
There are two kinds of places:
• Physical place: a land area that has a
special shape, climate, plant or animal life.
For example, Mt. Everest is a physical place.
• Cultural Place: a place or event created by
humans such as a building, like the White
House or a city like New York City, or a
special celebration like Thanksgiving
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTION
In geography we look at the ways that humans
interact with their surroundings. This interaction
can take place in two ways.
• Humans change their environment to meet
their needs. For example, cutting down forests
or blasting through mountains.
• The environment forces people to make
changes in the way they live. For example, to
live in a cold climate, people must invent ways
to protect themselves from the cold
MOVEMENT
Movement describes how people in one
place make contact with people from
another place.
This contact can take place in three ways.
• People MIGRATE (move) from one
location to another.
• When people in one place want
something that is not found in their
area, they TRADE goods with people in
areas that have what they want.
• People across the world exchange
IDEAS and INFORMATION through the