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The Five Themes of
Geography
A Framework for Studying the
World
North Carolina Geographic Alliance
PowerPoint Presentations
2007
Essential Question
What are the 5 themes of Geography and why
do we use various map projections?
Theme 1: Location
• Where is It?
• Why is It There?
Two Types of
Location
•Absolute
•Relative
Absolute Location
•
•
•
•
A specific place on the Earth’s surface
Uses a grid system
Latitude and longitude
A global address
Oklahoma
Absolute Location
• Oklahoma City
35° N Latitude
97° W longitude
Relative Location
• Where a place is
in relation to
another place
• Uses directional
words to describe
– Cardinal and
intermediate
directions
Oklahoma
• Oklahoma is bordered by Kansas
and Colorado on the north, Texas
on the south, New Mexico and
Texas on the west, and Arkansas
and Missouri on the east.
• Oklahoma is one of the
Southwestern States
Theme 2: Regions
Regions = places united by specific
characteristics
Formal Regions = a region defined by a common
characteristic. Ex. The Corn Belt
Functional Regions = a central point and the
surrounding territories linked to it. Ex. Houston
Perceptual Regions = a region defined by popular
feelings and images rather than by objective data
Ex. The Deep South
Cultural Regions = a region defined many factors
such as government, social groups, economic
systems, language, or religion
Ex. The Middle East
Theme 3: Physical Geography
Physical Land Characteristics
• Land Features
• Mountains, plains,
and plateaus
• Climate
• Bodies of Water
• Ecosystem
Physical
Characteristics
Photos above: Steve Pierce
http://www.wetmaap.org/Cape_Hatteras/ch_tm_2.html
Theme 4: Human
Systems
•
•
•
•
•
People
Culture
Language
Religion
Buildings and
Landmarks
• Cities
• Movement
Human Systems
Movement
The Mobility of
• People
• Goods
• Ideas
How Places are
linked to one
another and the
world
Movement
http://www.marad.dot.gov/Gallery/MoreheadCity/pages/Ming%20Europe.htm
http://www.evertize.com/land/images/I-40-64%20interchange.JPG
Theme 5: HumanEnvironment Interaction
How People Interact With Their
Environment
People . . .
• Adapt to Their Environment
• Modify Their Environment
• Depend on Their Environment
http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/corbis/DGT119/BAG0017.jpg
Human Environment
Interaction
http://aam.wcu.edu/grant/images/Fontana%20Dam%20Shirley.jpg
http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091002/images/mallc.jpg
http://www.ee.duke.edu/~sag8/Duke/02-03/PiKA/Fall%20Break/Fall_Break_02.htm
From Globes to Maps:
To create maps, cartographers project the round
earth onto a flat surface–making a map projection.
There are more than a hundred kinds of map
projections, some with general names and some
named for the cartographers who developed them.
The basic categories of map projections are shown
here: planar, cylindrical, Conic, and Mercator.
Cylindrical Projection A cylindrical projection is based on
the projection of the globe onto a cylinder. This projection is
most accurate near the Equator, but shapes and distances
are distorted near the Poles.
Conic Projection A conic projection comes from placing a
cone over part of a globe. Conic projections are best suited
for showing limited east–west areas that are not too far from
the Equator. For these uses, a conic projection can indicate
distances and directions fairly accurately.
Robinson Projection The Robinson projection has
minor distortions. The sizes and shapes near the
eastern and western edges of the map are accurate,
and the outlines
of the continents appear much as they do on the
globe. However, the shapes of the polar areas
appear somewhat distorted.
Common
Mercator Projection The Mercator projection, once
the most commonly used projection, increasingly
distorts size and distance as it moves away from the
Equator. This makes areas such as Greenland and
Antarctica look much larger than they would appear
on a globe. However, Mercator projections do
accurately show true directions and the shapes of
landmasses, making these maps useful for sea
travel.
Common