Geographical Themes

THE FIVE THEMES OF THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHYGEOGRAPHY

•LocationLocation•PlacePlace•Human-Environment InteractionHuman-Environment Interaction•MovementMovement•RegionsRegions

Theme 1: Location

Location: the meaning of relative and absolute position on the earth's surface

Sample terms: Latitude and longitude, site and situation, direction, distance, scale

Location

• Where is It?• Why is It There?

Two Types of Location

•Absolute

•Relative

Absolute Location

• A specific place on the Earth’s surface• Uses a grid system• Latitude and longitude• A global address

Absolute Location

• Examples:– Rome is located at 41 N, 12 E– Argentina is located in the southern

hemisphere– Ecuador is located in Tropic of

Cancer.– LNE is located in Lincoln, NE.

Relative Location

• Where a place is in relation to another place

• Uses directional words to describe– Cardinal and

intermediate directions

Relative Location

• Examples: – Rome is located near the

Mediterranean Sea.– Argentina is near Brazil.– Ecuador is south of Mexico.– Lincoln is 50 miles from Omaha.

Theme 2: Place

Place: the distinctive and distinguishing physical and human characteristics of locales

Sample terms: Physical and cultural landscapes, sense of place

PlacePhysical Characteristics• Land Features• Mountains, plains,

and plateaus• Climate• Bodies of Water

PlaceHuman Characteristics

• People• Culture• Language• Religion• Buildings and

Landmarks• Cities

Theme 3: Human Environment Interaction

Relationships within places: the development and consequences of human-environment relationships

Sample terms: Ecosystems, natural resources, environmental pollution

Theme 3: Human Environment Interaction

How People Interact With Their Environment

People . . .• Adapt to Their Environment• Modify Their Environment• Depend on Their Environment

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Theme 4: Movement

Movement: patterns and change in human spatial interaction on the earth

Sample terms: Migration, diffusion, globalization

Theme 4: Movement

The Mobility of• People• Goods• Ideas

How Places are linked to one another and the world

Regions: how they form and change

Sample terms: Formal vs. functional regions

Theme 5: Regions

What Places Have in Common

• Political Regions• Landform Regions• Agricultural Regions• Cultural Regions

Remembering the 5 Remembering the 5 themesthemes

• If you can’t remembering what they If you can’t remembering what they are just ask MR. HELP!!!are just ask MR. HELP!!!

•MM – Movement – Movement•RR – Regions – Regions•HEHE – Human Environment – Human Environment

interactioninteraction•LL – Location – Location•PP - Place - Place