Download The Five Themes of Geography

The Themes of
Geography
Location, place, region, movement,
human environment interaction
Absolute Location
• Precise position on the globe
• Found by using a grid system composed
of lines of latitude and longitude
• Latitude and Longitude are measured in
degrees ( ° ) and minutes ( ' )
– Example: 10°36' N and 71°33' W
• Coordinates are two points of intersection
on the grid system
– Expressed using brackets with a comma
– Latitude always comes first
– example: (0°, 90°E)
Latitude
• Referred to as PARALLELS
• Run horizontally East/West
• Measure the distance 90°N and 90° S of
the Equator
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Equator = 0°
North Pole = 90°N
South Pole = 90°S
Tropic of Cancer = 23.5°N
Tropic of Capricorn = 23.5°S
Arctic Circle = 66.5°N
Antarctic Circle = 66.5°S
Longitude
• Referred to as MERIDIANS
• Run vertically North/South
• Measures the distance 180° E and 180° W
of the Prime Meridian
– Prime Meridian = 0°
– International Date Line = 180°
Relative Location
• Locating a place in relation to/compared to other
places
– Large scale (zoomed in, detailed area) = CSW is
across the street from the Cannery Shopping Center
– Small scale (zoom out, large area)= Patagonia is
located in the southern half of Argentina
• When giving relative location it is best to start on a
larger scale and then specify smaller scale
– Cuba is located in the Caribbean Sea, north of
Jamaica, and 90 miles south of Key West, Florida
PLACE
• What is it like there? What makes it unique?
• Place includes SITE and SITUATION
– Site
• Why did people settle here?
• Specific attributes (human & physical) about the place
itself
– Situation
• What surrounding influences have impacted or
influenced the place?
• Decides whether a place rises or falls
PLACE
• All places have physical & human meaning
– Human – Language, Religion, Cultural traditions, Type
of government, Trade networks
– Physical – Vegetation, Climate, landforms, bodies of
water, natural resources
• Places change over time
– Push Factors - changes that make people want to leave
– Pull Factors - changes that make people want to come
REGIONS
• Regions are constructs of the human mind
• Help us understand the world
• The places within a region share
commonalities that make it a region
• Regions have human & physical attributes
• Three types of regions
– Uniform or Formal
– Functional
– Perceptual
Uniform or Formal Region
• Characterized by similar human or physical
characteristics
• Usually have definitive borders
• Examples:
– states, city limits, voting & school districts
– Landforms (Rocky Mountains)
– Ethnic groups (Kurdistan)
– Vegetation (Great Plains)
– Language (Basque Region of France & Spain)
Functional Region
• Central place (core) that is linked to its
surrounding area (domain)
Periphery
• What links the region:
– transportation
– communication
– economics
Core
Domain
• Examples: metropolitan areas, hospital
service area, marketing regions, sports fan
base
Perceptual Region
• These reflect human feelings or attitudes
and are defined by subjective images, not
by objective data
• What people think about a certain region
• Because regions are constructs of the
mind, many are perceptual
– Is Ohio a mid western state? Depends on
your perception
Human Environment Interaction
• The study of the interrelationship between
people and their physical environment
• Looks at:
– How people use their environment?
– How and why they have changed it?
– What are the consequences of these
changes?
Movement
• Refers to how the migration of people,
goods, and ideas shape the world
• Why migrate?
– Cultural clashes
– Political repression
– Economic opportunities
– Scarce resources
• Interdependence
– Relying on one another for goods, services,
and ideas