1. 5 Themes of geography

2. 5 Themes of geography Geographers study the world by looking at
Location
Place
Region
Movement
Human-Environment Interaction

3. #1 Location: Where is it? Absolute Location Relative Location
The exact place on the earth where a geographic feature is found
3322 RR 620 South Austin, TX
LTHS Room J206
Latitude   = 30 degrees,   19.7 minutes  North
Longitude = 97 degrees,   58.2 minutes   West
Relative Location
Describes a place in comparison to other places or landmarks around it
Across the street from LTHS
170 miles northwest of Houston

4. #2 Place: What is it like?
Describes the physical features and cultural characteristics of a location.

5. #3 Region: How are places similar or different?
Describes an area of the earth’s surface with similar characteristics, usually more than one
Criteria for defining region depends on geographer’s purpose
Similar Characteristics
Physical
Political
Economic
Cultural
Three Categories of a Region
Formal
Functional
Perceptual

6. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS: What defines a region?
Physical (natural) characteristics
landforms, climate, vegetation
Human (cultural) characteristics
language, religion, ethnicity, population

7. Formal Region Examples?
United States and Canada
Latin America
Europe
Russia and the Republics
Africa
Southwest Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica
Defined by a limited number of related characteristics.
Continents
Climate
Culture

8. Functional Region
Organized around interactions and connections between places, especially around some central point.
Example: City and suburbs
Highways
Subways
Bus lines

9. Perceptual Regions
A region in which people perceive, or see, the characteristics of the region in the same way
How we stereotype them
Is it always the same for everyone?
What are the perceptions of the following regions:
Texas
New York
Hollywood
Africa
Middle East

10. Sub-Regions
Further classification of Regions based upon physical features and human characteristics.
Examples: The United States is in the North American Region. However, the U.S. has several sub-regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, etc.

11. #4 Movement
How and why people, plants, animals, and ideas move through time and place
How do geographers analyze movement?
By looking at three types of distances: linear, time, and psychological
Linear = how far across the earth a person, an idea, or a product travels
Time=how long it takes
Psychological=perception (how they view) the distance

14. #5 Human: Environment Interaction
People learn to use what the environment offers them and to change that environment to meet their needs.

15. What is Human Environment Interaction?
There are two key human/environment interaction:
Humans adapt to the environment. They alter what they do and how they do it.
Humans modify the environment. They change the landscape to suit their needs.
Changes can be positive or negative
Positive: Makes places safer or more livable
Negative: Pollutes or destroys beauty

16. Importance of 5 Themes???
They give us a “geographic lens” through which to view the world.
Every unit of study this year will focus in some way on these themes.