Five Themes of Geography

What do Geographers Do?

Five Themes of Geography

Where is it?

Two Types of Location

Absolute Location• Absolute: Latitude and Longitude or

an address– KCHS: Latitude 30º03’52.337” N

Longitude: 95°29’30.833”W or 20811 Ella Blvd.

Latitudes

North/South Hemispheres

Longitudes

East/West Hemispheres

Measurement

Relative Location

• Relative: Describing where a place is by describing places near it.– KCHS – south of

Schindewolf & west of Kreinhop.

What is it like?

Two Features

• Human features: The culture of a place.– Race, religions,

languages, governments, occupations, architecture, foods, clothing, etc.

• Physical features: Things determined by nature.– Climate, indigenous plants, animals,

land forms, types of soils, etc.

How do people relate

to the physical world?

Human- Environment Interaction

• How people effect the environment and how the environment effects people.

• People either adapt to their environment or they modify their environment

Examples• Dams

• Roads

• Farms

• Cities

How do people,

ideas, and products

move from one location to another?

Movement• Movement of people, goods, and

ideas from one place to another.

Everything Came From Somewhere

Linear Distance• How far do people, products and

ideas travel from one location to another.

Time Distance

• The amount of time it takes for a person/idea/good to travel from one location to another.

Psychological Time• The way people perceive distance.

How are areas similar or different?

Region• An area that is unique. Geographers

use regions to compare different areas.

Distinctive Characteristics

Formal Regions• Defined by a limited number of

related characteristics.

• Houston• Texas• USA• Africa

Functional Regions• Organized around a set of

interactions and connections between places.

• Think of a hub:– Downtown to Spring– Medical Center to Sugarland

Perceptual Regions• People see characteristics the same

way.

• Hill Country• The South• The Middle East