Five Themes of Geography

What is Geography

• Geography– Geography is the study of where people, places

and things are located and of the ways in which things relate to each other

The Five Themes of Geography

1. Location

2. Place

3. Human-Environment interaction

4. Movement

5. Region

Location

• Absolute Location - A places position on the globe– Equator – circles the globe halfway between the north

and south poles. It divides the world into north and south hemisphere

– Lines of Latitude – run parallel to the equator and measures distance north or south

– Lines of longitude – they run north and south between the tow poles and measure distance east and west

– Prime Meridian – line of longitude at zero degree that runs through Greenwich, England

• Relative Location – Where a place is located in relation to other places

Place

• Place – how places are similar and distinct from one another– Physical characteristics – unique characteristics

such as landforms, vegetation, and climate– Human characteristics – urban growth, farming

techniques, architectural styles, religion, and politics

Human-Environment Interaction

• Human-environment interaction – How people use their environment– Some changes are intentional and some are

accidental– Some changes are positive and some are

negative

Movement

• Movement – impact that geography has upon the movement of people, goods and ideas through a place

Regions

• Regions – Group of places with at least one common characteristic– Formal Region – certain characteristics are

found throughout the area– Functional Region – one central place and the

surrounding places affected by it– Perceptual Region – a region in which people

perceive, or see the characteristics of the region in the same way

* A place may be part of more than one region

Omaha Explain

Location

Absolute

Relative

Place

Human-Environment interaction

Movement

Region