place, location, region, movement, … location, region, movement, human/environmental interaction....

5 themes of Geography

Place, Location, Region,

Movement, Human/Environmental

Interaction

All places have attributes that give them meaning and character and

distinguish them from other places on earth. Geographers describe

place by two specific definitions:

Physical Characteristics The physical characteristics of a place make

up its natural environment and are derived from geological, hydrological,

atmospheric, and biological processes. They include land forms, bodies of

water, climate, soils, natural vegetation, and animal life.

Human Characteristics: The human characteristics of a place come

from human ideas and actions. They include bridges, houses, and parks.

Human characteristics of place also include land use, density of population,

language patterns, religion, architecture, and political systems.

Physical Characteristics

Those physical features about a place that make it unique


Where are these places??


Where would you find these

animals??


What are some of the physical

characteristics that make

Leland unique

Human Characteristics

Human Characteristics: The human characteristics of a place come from human

ideas and actions. They include bridges, houses, and parks. Human characteristics

of place also include land use, density of population, language patterns, religion,

architecture, and political systems.


political systems.


Architecture

Location is the second theme of Geography. Location

describes where something is, and is broken into two

areas:

Absolute Location: answers the questions: Where is it?

Absolute location is nothing more than a simple dot--often

identified as a grid coordinate on the surface of the earth.

Latitude and Longitude can be used to pinpoint a location. For

example, the absolute location of New Orleans, Louisiana, is 30

degrees north, 90 degrees west. Finding absolute

location is the starting point for geographic research.

Location is the second theme of Geography. Location

describes where something is, and is broken into two

areas:

Relative Location: answers the question of where a place

is located in relation to other places. For example, New

Orleans is located at the place where the Mississippi

River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which gives it

easy access to ocean and river shipping. Your home has a

relative location. Where is it located in relation to schools,

stores, and convenient transportation?

Absolute Location in practice


Not very accurate

in the beginning


Satellite and Global

Positioning Systems

Relative Location in practice

Near what city??

It is defined as an area that has unifying

characteristics.

A region has certain characteristics that give it

a measure of cohesiveness and

distinctiveness that set it apart from other

regions.

Functional Region: It is organized around a node or focal point

with the surrounding areas linked to that node

by transportation systems, communication

systems, or other economic association

involving such activities as manufacturing and

retail trading.

A typical functional region is Silicon Valley.

Formal Region :It is characterized by a common human property, such as the

presence of people who share a particular language, religion,

nationality, political identity or culture, or by a common physical

property, such as the presence of a particular type of climate,

landform, or vegetation.

Political entities such as counties, states, countries, and provinces

are formal regions because they are defined by a common political

identity.

(See next slide for example)

Formal Regions within

a Formal Region

Perceptual : The third type of region is the perceptual region. It is a construct

that reflects human feelings and attitudes about areas and is

therefore defined by people’s shared subjective images of those

areas.

Southern California, Dixie, and the upper Midwest are perceptual

regions that are thought of as being spatial units, although they do

not have precise borders or even commonly accepted regional

characteristics and names.

The theme movement addresses this question:

How and why are places connected with one

another?

Relationships between people in different places

are shaped by the constant movement of people,

ideas, materials,

and physical systems such as

wind, plate tectonics and volcanoes.

Movement of People:

Immigration/Emigration, Urbanization, and Population. The total

people of the world is ever increasing, and they have to go

somewhere. The movement of people from one place to another

is also addressed, and the movement of people from farms to

cities, and back again (urban sprawl) will be covered.

Movement of Land: Plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes

Movement of People:

Understanding the patterns of

human movement, the causes,

and outcomes of that

movement, and the process of

that movement

Movement of Land:

Humans have settled in virtually every corner of the world by

successfully adapting to various natural settings. For example,

people who live in the northeastern United States use heating units

to keep their homes warm in winter People in the southern part of

the country use air conditioning much of the year to stay cool in the

heat. The ways people choose to adapt to their settings reflect

their economic and political circumstances and their technological

abilities.

Humans have settled in virtually every corner of the world by

successfully adapting to various natural settings. For example,

people who live in the northeastern United States use heating units

to keep their homes warm in winter People in the southern part of

the country use air conditioning much of the year to stay cool in the

heat. The ways people choose to adapt to their settings reflect

their economic and political circumstances and their technological

abilities.

The earth’s Vegetation Zones, Natural Resources, &

Energy Development play a significant factor in that development.

Desert

Savanna

Tropical

Desert

Prairie

The earth’s Vegetation Zones, Natural Resources, & Energy

Development play a significant factor in that development.

place, location, region, movement, … location, region, movement, human/environmental interaction....

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