5 Themes of Geography

5 Themes of Geography

LOCATION

PLACE

HUMAN – ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

MOVEMENTREGION

Absolute Location – the exact position of a place on the earth’s surface.EX: • Latitude / Longitude• Street address

Relative Location – the position of a place in relation to other places.EX:•…next to…•…south of…• …between…

LOCATION

1. Location

Location answers this question:

Where is it?

Describe where you live using both absolute and relative location.

Absolute Location (coordinates)

360 degrees in a circle

Latitude and Longitude:

Latitude measures how far north or south of the equator (0-90 degrees);

Longitude measures how far east or west of Greenwich, England (0-180 degrees).

Absolute Location (named)

continents statesoceans countiesmountains citiesrivers suburbslakes neighborhoodscountries streetsterritories house numbers

Relative Location (azimuth)

270°

0°

90°

180°

Practice...

See Canvas for today’s assignment.

2. Place

LOCATON

PLACE

Place – features and characteristics that give an area its own identity or personality.

•Physical CharacteristicsEX: landforms, climate, plants, and animals

•Human CharacteristicsEX: language, religion, architecture, music, way of life

Place answers this question:

What is it like?

Describe what your neighborhood is like using both physical and human characteristics.

3. Human – Environment Interaction

LOCATION

PLACEHUMAN – ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

Human – Environment Interaction:The relationship linking people to their environment.

2 Ways they interact:•People change (or affect) their environment.EX: cutting down trees, pollution, damming rivers

•Environment affects human activities.EX: soil and water determine crops, temperature, earthquakes and floods force people to move.

Interaction answers the questions:How is man affected by his environment?How is the environment impacted by man?

List some ways that you have adapted to your environment.

In what ways do you think we have changed the environment around us?

4. Movement

LOCATION

PLACE

HUMAN – ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

MOVEMENT

Movement – The three things that move in geography are people, ideas, and goods.

Related terms:•Immigration – the moving from one country to another to permanently settle.

•Cultural Diffusion – when the way of life from one culture is accepted by another cultural group.

•Trade – an exchange of property, usually buying and selling.

On your paper, create a 3-column chart. List People, Ideas, and Goods at the top of your columns and list 5 examples of things that move in each column.

Movement answers the question:

What’s moving and why?

5. Region

LOCATION

PLACE

HUMAN – ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

MOVEMENTREGION

Regions – are areas that are united by one or more characteristics.

Much like place, regions can be defined in terms of physical, human characteristics.

Business and commerce can also identify a region.

Region answers the question:

What similarities do these places share in common?

With the 5 Themes of Geography, the world is now within your grasp.

LOCATION

PLACE

HUMAN – ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

MOVEMENTREGION