Five Themes of Geography

LocationAbsolute location• Latitude or longitude (global location)Dubi - 25°16’05.65”N, 55 °18”17.30”E

• Street address (local location)1 Emaar Bvld, Downtown Dubai (UAE)Burj Dubai

LocationRelative location • Where something is located in relation to something else (landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another) QuickTime™ and a

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PlacePhysical characteristics• Landforms, climate, vegetation, soil and wildlife

• Dubai - hot, windy and dry 150mm), storm plains, desert wasteland (Western Hajar Mountains along Oman border), little vegetation, Arabian Leopard and wildcat.

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Placehuman characteristics• Derived from ideas & actions of people that

result in changes to the environment (buildings, roads, clothing and food habits)

• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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Place

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PlaceImage • people have of a place is based on their experiences, both intellectual and emotional

(Mental Map)• People's descriptions of a place reveal

their values, attitudes, and perceptions.

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Human/environmental• How do humans and the environment affect each

other? 

• We change the environment and then sometime Mother Nature changes it back. 

• There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction:

i) Humans adapt to the environment.

ii) Humans modify the environment.

III) Humans depend on the environment.

Movement• The movement of people, goods, and ideas have all played major roles in shaping our world. 

• People interact with each other through movement - travel, trade, information flows (E-Mail) and political events.

Movement• Not only do humans move but also ideas move; fashions move; fads move. Hula Hoop

RegionsA region is the basic unit of study in geography.  A region is an area that shares common characteristics

There are three basic types of regions.

•Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i. e., Country, City, provice, State)

•includes physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Great Lakes States).

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RegionsFunctional regions are those defined by a function

If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists.

Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception (i. e., The South, The Middle East).