Download Five Themes of Geography- Notes

Fives Themes of Geography- Notes
1. Location-describes where a place can be found
a. Two types of location
i. Absolute location- its position on the globe
1. latitude, or parallels
measures distances north/south of the
Equator
2. longitude, or meridians
measures distances east/west of the Prime
Meridian (runs through the Royal Observatory
in Greenwich, England)
Ex. New Orleans, Louisiana is at 30º N and 90º W
Mogadishu, Somalia is located at 2º N and 45º E
ii. Relative location- describes where a place is in
relation to another place
Ex. “Mexico is south of the United States”
“New Orleans is several hundred miles south
of Memphis, Tennessee”
2. Place- describes how areas are alike and different, character
of a place
a. Two types of characteristics
i. Physical Characteristics
1. landforms- mountainous or flat
2. ecosystems- leafy tropical rain forests or sparse,
moss-covered tundra
3. climate- normal weather, hurricanes, blizzards,
droughts, floods
ii. Human Characteristics
1. How people live, work and visit a place?
2. What are their languages, customs and beliefs?
3. How does their economy work?
4. How are they governed?
3. Regions- a group of places with at least one characteristic in
common, physical or human characteristics
a. Three types of regions
1. Formal regions- a certain characteristic is found
throughout the area
i. Political regions- all follow or live under
the same laws/govt
ii. climate/vegetation regions
1. (Corn belt- part of the U.S. where
lots of corn is grown)
iii. landform regions
2. Functional regions- focal point/central place
with surrounding areas linked by
transportation/communication/common use
i. Amazon drainage basin in South
America is the region drained by the
Amazon River
ii. Dallas-Forth Worth metro that shares a
common airport located between the
two cities
3. Perceptual regions- people’s feelings and
attitudes about areas, no precise borders
a. perception- a viewpoint that is influenced
by one’s own culture and experiences
i. The Midwest
ii. The Rust Belt
iii. Missouri, may be a southern or western
state depending on who you ask
4. Movement- describes the ways people, goods and ideas move
from one place to another
a. trade, tourism and technology are just a few things that
cause things to move from one place to another
5. Human-Environment Interaction- explains how people use
and change their environment
a. Bringing in new plants
b. Irrigating the land
c. Building roads
d. Migration of people into an area