Download The Five Themes of Geography

The Five Themes of Geography
Review Sheet
Location
Answers the question “Where is it?”
Absolute Location: Indicates exact location, such as, “70 Post Rd, Greenland,
NH” or “41°N, 71°W”.
Relative Location: Explains where one place is in relation to another place, such
as, “Greenland Central School is located west of Portsmouth, off Route 33”
Place
Identifies natural and human features/characteristics that make one place
different from every other place.
Physical characteristics/features include: land forms, climate, vegetation,
animals.
Human characteristics/features include: culture, religion, language, accent,
customs, skin tone, eye structure.
Region
A region is similar to place. However, a region identifies a group of places or
large area that share common physical and human features and
characteristics. Regions may share the same climate and culture. The New
England region is known for its four seasons and fall foliage. Some other regions
of the US and the world include: Great Lakes, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, the
Southwest, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Middle East.
Movement
Movement answers the question, “How do people, goods and ideas move
from place to place?” Movement helps to trace the spread of goods, people
and ideas from one location to the next.
Examples: mail, internet, telephone/cell phone, trucks, busses, train, barge,
places, cars, vans, bicycles, books, television, storytelling, and newspapers.
Human-Environment Interaction
Answers the question, “How do people and the earth affect each other?”
Human-environment interaction focuses on the relationship between people and
the environment, such as the changes they make to the environment to make
their lives easier. Environment can affect how people live, work, dress, travel
and communicate.
Example: Building a bridge over a river to connect the land on both sides of the
river making access and travel easier.
LOCATION – WHERE IS IT?
Every place on Earth has a location. There are two types of location:
Absolute Location and Relative Location.
Absolute Location is the exact spot on Earth where something is
found. Lines of latitude and longitude are used to measure a global
address of a particular place.
Example: Paris, the capital of France, is located at 49°N 2°E.
street address is also an example of absolute location.
A
Example: 70 Post Rd, Greenland, NH 03840
Relative Location is the position of a place in relation to other
places. It explains the approximate location of a place.
Example: The girl’s soccer field is behind GCS and near the
cemetery.
Example: The Fox Run Mall is located north of Portsmouth off Route
16.
PLACE – WHAT PHYSICAL OR HUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS SET ONE PLACE APART FROM
ANOTHER PLACE?
Every place on Earth has special physical and human
characteristics or features that make it different from every other
place on Earth.
Physical Characteristics or Features include climate, vegetation,
landforms, bodies of water, and wildlife.
Human Characteristics or Features include language, religion,
culture and customs, politics and government, skin tone, facial
features, music, food, architecture and landmarks.
REGION – WHAT COMMON PHYSICAL AND HUMAN
FEATURES UNIFY A GROUP OF PLACES?
A region is a group of places that share a common physical or
human characteristic or feature. Regions may be large areas of
land united by a common land feature such as the Rocky Mountain
region of the United States. Other regions may be much smaller in
size, such as Chinatown in NYC which is united by a common human
characteristic – culture.
The same physical and human
characteristics or features used to describe place are also used to
identify region. The same place may be found in more than one
region. For example, Hawaii is in the political region of the US, but it
is also located in a tropical climatic region.
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION – HOW DO
PEOPLE ADAPT/CHANGE/DEPEND ON THE
ENVIRONMENT?
Human-Environment Interaction focuses upon the relationship
between people and their environment. Environment affects how
people live, work, dress, travel, eat and communicate. People adapt
to their environment by wearing light weight clothing during hot
summer months. People change their environment by cutting down
trees to build roads. People depend upon their environment by using
water from lakes and rivers to irrigate their farms. Interdependence is
the dependence of countries on goods and resources from other
parts of the world.
MOVEMENT – HOW AND WHY DO PEOPLE, GOODS
AND IDEAS MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE?
Movement helps to trace the movement of people, goods and ideas
from one location to the next.
Migration, commuting to work and school, and traveling on vacation
are examples of human movement.
Trade which involves the exporting and importing of products, food,
and raw materials are examples of movement of goods.
Cell phones, internet, newspaper, books, television, fax and radio are
some examples of how ideas are “moved” or communicated around
the world.