1. The Five Themes of Geography

2. A. WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?? 1.Geography is the study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on earth. 2.In other words, its they study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to one another. 3.It comes from the Greek word geographia, which means “to describe the earth.”

3. B. Many Tools 1.Geographers use a lot of tools to study the earth 2.Maps are most common, which are visual representations of a portion of the earth. 3.We make mental maps every day! 4.They also use the following: – Photographs – Charts, graphs & tables – Scale models 5.The most basic tool geographers us is the five themes of geography to describe the use of space on earth.

4. B. Many Tools (cont.) 6. The Five Themes of Geography include: – Location – Place – Region – Movement – Human-Environment Interaction

5. 1.There are two types of location: absolute and relative 2.Absolute location  exact place on earth where a geographical feature is found 3.Absolute location is found by a grid system of imaginary lines on the earth 4.Earth is divided into two equal halves (aka hemispheres). Because the earth is round, a hemisphere can be north, south, east or west. C. Location (Where is it?)

6. C. Location (cont.) 5. Equator (0° latitude)  imaginary line on the grid that divides the northern and southern hemispheres 6. Prime meridian (0° longitude)  imaginary line on the grid that divides the east from the west 7. Lines of latitude (°N/°S) help us locate places north and south of the equator, while lines of longitude (°E/°W) help us locate places east and west of the prime meridian 8. Relative location  where a place is in comparison to another place (i.e. I live behind the school)

8. D. Place (What is it like) 1.Place includes physical and cultural characteristics 2.Physical features include climate, landforms and vegetation. This could also include highways, dams, etc. 3.Cultural features include things that people do in a place including their activities, transportation, etc.

9. E. Region (How are places similar or different?) 1.A region is an area of the earth’s surface with similar characteristics, including physical, political, economic and cultural characteristics 2.Three categories of regions include formal, functional and perceptual regions 3.A formal region is defined by a limited number of characteristics (i.e. a country or place like South Asia or the Middle East is a formal region)

10. E. Region (cont.) 4. A functional region is organized around a set of interactions and connections between places (i.e. the City of Louisville connects suburbs like St. Matthews, Shively, & the Highlands, linked together by highways and roads) 5. Perceptual region is when people see or perceive the characteristics of a region in the same way (i.e. people characterize the Mid-west as a certain part of the U.S., but people have different opinions as to what states are included in the Mid-west)

11. F. Movement (How do people, goods, and ideas move from one location to another) 1.Geographers study movement based on three types of distances: linear, time and psychological distances) 2.Linear distance is how far an idea, person or product travels.

12. F. Movement (cont.) 3. Time distance is the travel time for a person, idea or product. 4. Psychological distance has to do with how you and I view the world. Familiar places seem closer to us, while less familiar places seem very distant.

13. G. Human-Environment Interaction (How do people relate to the physical world?) 1.This is all about the relationship between humans and their environment. 2.For example, a hot, sunny climate might be ideal for outdoor recreation in one part of the world, while its looked as ideal for growing citrus fruits in another part of the world. 3.We also impact our environment by digging irrigation ditches, building dams or clearing forests for farming. 4.Sometimes our alterations to the environment create problems like pollution.

14. ANY QUESTIONS??