The Five Themes of Geography What is Geography What are the five themes How are the five themes used...

The Five Themes of GeographyThe Five Themes of GeographyWhat is Geography

What are the five themesHow are the five themes used

How will I use this in class

What is Geography?What is Geography?

• Comes from the Greek word “geographia”—meaning “to describe the earth”

• Geographers view the world by looking at how space is used on earth and the interactions that take place

• Geography is the study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on the earth

The Five Themes of GeographyThe Five Themes of Geography

• Tools used in Geography—

Maps, Charts, Graphs, tables, observations and the five themes

• The themes organize information to make it easier to study—geography is very broad

Theme: LocationTheme: Location

• Where is it?

• Location can be described either relatively or absolutely

Absolute LocationAbsolute Location• The exact location of

a place on the globe or map

• To find exact location you use the grid system on the globe or map

• The grid system is made up of Longitude and Latitude lines

Relative LocationRelative Location

• Describing location of one place in terms or relation to another place

• McDonalds is one block down from the Kroger

• Cairo, Egypt is located near the mouth of the Nile River in Africa

• For relative location to be useful, you must already have some grasp of where certain things are located.

Theme: PlaceTheme: Place

• What is it like?

• Can be described physically or culturally

• Physically– mountains, rivers, lakes, climate, vegetation

• Culturally– religion, population, language, ethnic background

Theme: RegionTheme: Region

• How are areas similar or different?

• A region is an area of earth’s surface with similar characteristics—physical, cultural, economic, or political

• There are Three types of regions

1. Formal

2. Functional

3. Perceptual

Formal RegionsFormal Regions

• Defined by a limited number of related characteristics

• Example: The Sahel region in Africa is a desert area characterized by specific climate, vegetation, and land use patterns

• Political regions– continents, countries, or states

• Economic regions—The Breadbasket of the U.S.

• Cultural regions– The Middle East

Functional RegionsFunctional Regions

• Two or more places connected by interactions or connections usually through movement.

• Example: a city and its suburbs connected by highways, railroads, subways, and bus lines

Perceptual RegionsPerceptual Regions• A place in which people perceive, or see, the

characteristics of the region in the same way

Example: The South

Theme: Human-Environment Interaction

Theme: Human-Environment Interaction

• How do people relate to the physical world?

• Adapting- Humans changing themselves to meet the surrounding environment

Example: using air conditioning in a hot climate

• Altering– Humans changing the environment to meet their personal needs

Example: Building a dam to control flooding or cutting down trees to create farm land

Theme: MovementTheme: Movement

• How do people, ideas, and products move from one location to another?

• Geographers analyze movement by looking at three types of distance: linear distance, time distance, and psychological distance

Theme: MovementTheme: Movement

• Linear Distance: how far a person, idea, or product moves across the earth

Example: geographers look at how physical geography can prevent linear movement (mountains, oceans)

• Time Distance: amount of time it takes for a person, idea, or product to reach a place

Example: how long did it take for Christianity to spread, trade of products

Theme: MovementTheme: Movement

• Psychological Distance: the way people view distance. The more familiar you are with a place the closer it seems to be to you.