THE 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

Defining Geography

What is Geography?

Geography is the study of the earth and the way people live on it and use

it.

Geography: Defining the Discipline

• Geographia (Greek origins)– Geo (earth) + graphein (to describe or write)– To write or describe the surface of the earth

• The study of the spatial arrangement and association among elements on and/or in contact with the earth’s surface

• Explaining the “big picture”

Geography: Defining the Discipline

• Three defining questions…– What is located where?– Why are things located where they are?– What is the significance?

The Geographic Perspective

• Understanding the ways in which humankind perceives and interacts with the Earth’s surface, its resources, and its people

• Geography lies at the intersection of both social and physical sciences

• Explain the processes that give rise to spatial distributions---it’s not all about maps!

• Geographic landscapes are social creations

The Geographer’s Perspective

• From Greek term geographia – “To describe the earth”– Look at use of space

• Methods– Maps– Atlases, books,

electronic media– Imagery (photos, etc)– Five themes

Spatial variation: predominant religion

Why spatial variation exists: earthquakes

Changes over time: deforestation

Five Themes of Geography

THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

• Location• Place• Human-Environment Interaction• Movement• Regions

Location

Theme 1: Location

• Where is It?• Why is It There?

Two Types of Location

•Absolute

•Relative

Theme One: Location

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

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

Skills: Map reading, identification Questions: Where is ____? Where is ____

relative to where I am?

LOCATIONWhere are we?

• Absolute Location– A latitude and longitude

(global location) or a street address (local location).

– Paris France is 48o North Latitude and 2o East Longitude.

– The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

• Relative Location– Described by landmarks,

time, direction or distance. From one place to another.

– Go 1 mile west on main street and turn left for 1 block.

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Absolute Location

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

Location• Absolute

– Grid system– Imaginary lines – Hemispheres by

• Equator• Prime meridian

• Parallels of latitude– Equator is zero– Location N or S of zero– Aka “parallels”

North CarolinaAbsolute Location

• North Carolina36° N Latitude 79° W longitude

• Chapel Hill35° 55' N Latitude 79° 05' W Longitude

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

North Carolina

• North Carolina is bordered by Virginia on the north, South Carolina and Georgia on the south, and Tennessee on the west.

• The Atlantic Ocean forms North Carolina's east coast.

• North Carolina is one of the Southeastern States

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.

Place

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

Sample terms: Physical and cultural landscapes, sense of place

Skills: Description, compare and contrast Questions: What does ____ look like? Why?

How is it different from ____?

Theme Two: Place

PLACE

What is it like there, what kind of place is it?• Human

Characteristics• What are the main

languages, customs, and beliefs.

• How many people live, work, and visit a place.

• Physical Characteristics

• Landforms (mountains, rivers, etc.), climate, vegitation, wildlife, soil, etc.

Physical Characteristics• Specific to THAT place, not generic.

– The way a place looks.• Created by nature.

– Mountains– Rivers, Lakes, Seas– Climate– Vegetation

• Examples:– Andes Mountains are in South America.– Amazon River flows through Brazil.– Pampas are located in Argentina.– The isthmus of Panama connects Central & South America.

Cultural Characteristics• Specific to THAT place, not generic.

– Peoples activities change the way a place looks or is represented.• Man-made or invented.

– Language– Unique buildings– Religious Practices– Celebrations/traditions/holidays

• Examples: – Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.– Many Mexicans are Catholic.– Mayan ruins are located in Mexico. – Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico.

Activity: How does this song describe a place? What kind of place is this? What are its physical and human characteristics? What other

songs do you know that describe places?

Home on the RangeOh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Where the deer and the antelope playWhere seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day

How often at night when the heavens are bright

With the light from the glittering starsHave I stood there amazed and asked as I

gazedIf their glory exceeds that of ours

Home, home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day

Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so freeThe breezes so balmy and light

That I would not exchange my home on the rangeFor all of the cities so bright

Home, home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day

Oh, I love those wild flow'rs in this dear land of ours

The curlew, I love to hear screamAnd I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks

That graze on the mountaintops green

Home, home on the rangeWhere the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging wordAnd the skies are not cloudy all day

Human-Environment Interaction

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

Sample terms: Ecosystems, natural resources, environmental pollution

Skills: Evaluation, analysis Questions: What human-environment

relationships are occurring? How do they affect the place and its inhabitants?

Theme Three: Human and Environment Interaction

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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Human-Environment Interaction

• People use/change & live with environment– Live with climate– Drain swamps– Dig irrigation ditches

• Problems caused– Pollution– Habitat disappears– Desertification

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

• How do humans and the environment affect each other?– We depend on it.

• People depend on the Tennessee River for water and transportation.

– We modify it.• People modify our environment by

heating and cooling buildings for comfort.– We adapt to it.

• We adapt to the environment by wearing clothing suitable for summer (shorts) and winter (coats), rain and shine.

North Carolina: Human Environment Interaction

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http://www.ee.duke.edu/~sag8/Duke/02-03/PiKA/Fall%20Break/Fall_Break_02.htm

http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091002/images/mallc.jpg

InteractionA. Interaction between people and their environment

Activity: List ways that people affect their environment. Are these harmful or helpful?

Movement

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

Sample terms: Migration, diffusion, globalization

Skills: Explanation, prediction Questions: How has this spatial pattern

developed? Will it continue to change? What does it mean for the places involved?

Theme Four: Movement

MOVEMENT

• How are people, goods, ideas moved from place to place?– Human Movement

• Trucks, Trains, Planes

– Information Movement• Phones, computer (email), mail

– Idea Movement• How do fads move from place to place?

TV, Radio, Magazines

Movement

• Places do not exist in isolation.– Interconnectedness of the world changes the way

places“look”.• Today: “globalization”

– People, goods & ideas move from place to place.• Examples

– Immigration from Latin America to US.– War in Iraq (troops, supplies, ideas, people)– UNL (people, ideas)– Myspace, Facebook (ideas)

North Carolina: Movement

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Movement: Activity: Find the origin of manufacture of as many items as you can on your body or in your bookbag. Examples: shirt, sneakers, jewelry, backpack, folders, pens pencils, and anything else you can find out the origin of manufacture.

Make a list of the item and where it was made. How many of the items in the classroom can you name that have been manufactured in another country?

What are the raw materials needed to make these items, the most likely place of production or manufacture, and the most likely form of transportation from the place of manufacture to the classroom?

Regions

5) Regions: how they form and change Sample terms: Formal vs. functional regions Skills: Synthesis, application Questions: How has this spatial pattern

developed? Will it continue to change? What does it mean for the places involved?

Theme Five: Regions

Region• Similar or different?

– Similar characteristics– Usually more than one

• Formal regions– Related characteristics– Continent & culture

• Functional regions– Set of connections (greater

DC)• Perceptual regions

– People see characteristics same way – e.g., Midwest

Formal Region

• Most common/familiar.• Determined by the distribution of a uniform

characteristic (physical or cultural)– Location– Climate– Religion

• Examples– Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama)

– Latin America (spanish-speaking nations)

– Tropics (countries located near equator)

Functional Region

• Serves a purpose that affects places around it. – Distributes goods/people– Serves specific purpose

• Examples:– Panama Canal – Amazon River Basin– Hollywood– Havana, Cuba

Perceptual Region

• Groups of areas that provoke a certain stereotype or feeling.

• Examples:– The Bronx– The “ghetto” – China town

5 Physical Regions of the U.S1. Pacific Coast and Intermountain Region

a) includes mountains along coast2. Rocky Mountains

a) highest peaks in the U.S, above tree level3. Great Plains

a) flat grassland with little trees4. Appalachian Mountains

a) lower and less rugged than the Rockies5. Atlantic Coastal Plain

a) flat lowlands along the coast

Remembering the 5 themes

• If you can’t remembering what they are just ask MR. HELP!!!• M – Movement• R – Regions• HE – Human Environment Interaction• L – Location• P - Place

Use the five themes of geography and answer the following questions THREE of the following questions:

1. What is geography?2. Choose one of the five themes of geography and tell how

it has affected your life.3. If you described the means of transportation available to

and from school, what theme would you be using?4. Why might two places be identified as part of the same

region?5. What sports are examples of human-environment

interaction?6. Which theme would you be using if you wrote a letter

describing your town?

Key Geography Terms and Skills

The Geographer’s Tools• Globes

– Three dimensions– Accurate not portable

• Maps & charts– Two dimensional– Drawn to any scale– Different projections

• Scale models• Types of maps

– General reference, thematic, navigational

• Five Themes

Key Terms & Places

• Globe – A three-dimensional representation of the earth.

• Map – Two-dimensional graphic representations of selected parts of the earth’s surface.

• Cartographer – A person who makes maps or charts.

Understanding the Globe• Earth is a huge sphere, like a ball. Most maps show the earth’s surface as flat. A globe is a sphere. Because of this, it provides an accurate map of our planet.

• Compass: An instrument for finding directions. • Cardinal Points: the four main points on a compass – north, east, south, and west.

• Intermediate Points: points in between cardinal points – northeast, northwest, northwest, southeast, and southwest.

Understanding the Globe

• Equator: An imaginary line circles Earth halfway between the north and south pole and divides the Earth into two half spheres, called hemispheres.

•Prime Meridian: Another imaginary line that cuts the Earth in half from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Equator

Prime Meridian

Western Eastern

Understanding the Globe• Over 70% of our planet is covered in water,

mainly oceans.• Oceans are the largest bodies of water. There

four oceans. From largest to smallest, they are– Pacific Ocean– Atlantic Ocean– Indian Ocean– Arctic Ocean

Understanding the Globe• Oceans surround large landmasses called

continents• The seven continents on Earth, from largest to

smallest, are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Types of Maps• General reference

– AKA topographic– Natural & man-made

features of earth• Thematic

– Specific information– Climate, population

• Navigational– AKA charts– Pilots’ & sailors’ use

Nautical Chart (detail)

Geographic Skills• Finding a location

– Use of maps, charts, GPS, compass, etc

• Reading a map– Title, compass rose,

labels, legend (key), parallels of latitude, meridians of longitude, scale, symbols, colors

The Parts of a Map

Compass Rose• A compass rose is a model of a compass. It tells the

cardinal directions, which are north, south, east, and west.

Scale• The scale on a map tells you the relative distance on

the map to the real world. For example, a map’s scale may tell you that one inch on the map equals one mile in the real world.

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Key• The key, or legend, on a map explains what the

symbols on a map represent, such as triangles representing trees.

Grids• Some maps use a grid of parallels and meridians.

On a map of a small area, letters and numbers are often used to help you find your location.

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Understanding Latitude and Longitude

• latitude and longitude – types of measurement that can pinpoint any spot on Earth

• Latitude lines – run west to east (p.14)– Always have the same distance in between

them. – Are measured starting at the equator. – Equator – 0 ° latitude– North Pole - 90° latitude– South Pole - 90° latitude

Understanding Latitude and Longitude

• Longitude lines – lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. – Not always the same distance apart– Starting place for measuring them is the

Prime Meridian– Prime Meridian is at 0 degrees longitude

Understanding Latitude and Longitude

• To note a place on Earth, first name its latitude, then its longitude.

• For example, one location on Earth’s surface is at 30 degrees N, 90 degrees W. Can you find this location on the map on page 15?

How Latitude and Longitude Form the Global Grid

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The Hemispheres

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Geographic Skills – 2Reading a Map

Geographic Skills – 3Scale

• Scale– How much detail – Ratio scale– Bar scale

• How to remember:– “Small” = small amount

of detail– “Large” = large amount

of detail

Geographic Skills -4Using the Grid

• Parallels of latitude– 90° North latitude– 90° South latitude

• Longitude– 180° W longitude– 180° E longitude– International date line

• Degrees, minutes, seconds

• Locate any point on earth– Dakar: 14°43’N

17°28”W

Getting It All On the Map

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• In 1569, a geographer named Gerardus Mercator created a flat map to help sailors navigate long journeys across the globe.

• The Mercator projection, or method of putting a map of the Earth onto a flat piece of paper, is used by nearly all deep-sea navigators.

• The Mercator projection is a conformal map, meaning that it shows correct shapes, but not true distances or sizes.

• There are many types of other projections of the globe.

The World: Mercator Projection

The World: Three Projections

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There are many ways to show a globe on a flat map. The interrupted projection map, on the left, shows real sizes and shapes of continents. The equal area map , below left, shows size accurately. The Peters projection, below, shows land and oceans areas and correct directions accurately

Interrupted Projection

Equal-Area Projection

Peters Projection

Geographic Skills – 5Projections

• How to show– Curved surface– Flat mat– Distortion inevitable– “Choose your poison”

• Mercator (cylindrical) projection

• Conical projection

Geographic Skills – 6Robinson Projection

The World: A Robinson Projection

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ARCTIC OCEAN

Geographic Skills – 7Different Types of Maps

Italy; physical Italy; political

Geographic Skills - 8Thematic Map

The idea of a united Europe stretches back thousands of years. The early enthusiasts were seldom as high-minded as their modern successors (www.economist.com)

Geographic Skills – 9Cartograms