The 5 Themes of Geography And Map Skills Too!

Geography Geography is: The study of Earth’s surface and the people, environments and resources that shape it. Geography helps us understand why the earth looks the way it does and what causes it to change. Geography includes things like climate (weather), pollution, naturally made things like mountains and rivers, and even human made things like roads and bridges.

The 5 Themes of Geography What it tells us about Geography Location Where are we? Place What’s it like there? Interaction How do HUMANS and the ENVIRONMENT affect each other? Movement How do HUMANS and other HUMANS interact together? Region What links where we are to the places around us?

Location – Where are we? Exact Location – Like a grid system Relative Location – not specific Latitude and Longitude Lines (Macungie = 40°N, 75°W) Relative Location is location in relation to some other place Latitude is distance north or south from the equator “I’m near…” or “I’m about 2 hours from…” Longitude is distance east or west from the prime meridian Usually how we describe where we are in every day conversation Most famous latitude and longitude lines are: the equator and prime meridian How would you describe where LMMS is to someone from around here? We don’t usually use them in every day conversation. How would you describe where Allentown is to someone from CA?

Place – What’s it like there? Describes an area’s physical and human features. Physical features: Landforms and Climates. Ex: Rocky Mountains, The Grand Canyon, Tropical Climate Human features: What people do to change a place. Ex: Global Warming, building roads and buildings

Interaction – How do HUMANS and the ENVIRONMENT affect each other? Humans greatly change their environments as they adapt to living. Over long periods of time, humans have really changed the way our planet looks and acts. Example: Humans have cut down so many trees to build houses and make every day supplies that we have actually greatly reduced the amount of oxygen in the air for us to breathe. The environment also changes humans. Humans have evolved through a long process of learning to adapt to the challenges of their environments. Example: People who live in warmer places where the sun is strong need darker skin to protect them from the sun rays. This is why people who live in Africa (or their ancestors) have dark skin.

Movement – How do HUMANS interact with other HUMANS? People move around the globe often because resources are scattered unevenly around the globe. People often go where it is easiest for them to live a good life. Examples: People migrate (move) all around the globe to get closer to resources and share ideas. People trade with each other, countries import (bring goods in) and export (send goods out).

Regions – What links where we are to the places around us? The area where we are and the areas around us have similar physical characteristics (like climates and landforms). Humans have drawn lines on maps and called different places by different names, but our world doesn’t know that! Pennsylvania and New Jersey are not physically very different. We are part of the same “region” even though we are called by two different names. We have similar climates (weather) and similar types of land. We even share some important landforms like the Appalachian Mountains.

Maps and Globes A globe is a scale model of Earth. It shows the actual shapes, sizes, and locations of all Earth’s landmasses and bodies of water.

Understanding Globes Lines of Latitude – Imaginary horizontal lines around the globe. *Also called Parallels Lines of Longitude – Imaginary vertical lines around the globe. *Also called Meridians Together, these lines form the global grid. Every place on the earth has its own set of coordinates on the global grid.

Earth’s Hemisphere’s To help us find our location on the earth easier, we break our earth down into parts, or hemisphere’s. We divide our planet into North and South halves, OR into East and West halves. Which 2 hemisphere’s do we live in?

Map Projections Types of Maps: Same-Shape Maps (Mercator Projection): Accurately show the shapes of landmasses, but distort the size of landmasses and distances between them. Equal Area Maps: Show the correct size of landmasses, but distort their shapes, especially at the edges of the map. Robinson Maps: Gives a full overall picture of the world. Keeps the size and shape correct for most continents and oceans, but distorts the size of the polar regions. Map Projections Maps are drawings that show regions on flat surfaces. Maps are easier to use and carry than globes, but they cannot show the correct size and shape of every feature on Earth’s curved surface. They must shrink some places and stretch others. To make up for this distortion, map makers use different map projections. No one projection can accurately show the correct area, shape, distance, and direction for all of Earth’s surface.

Comparing Types of Maps By looking at the country of Greenland on each map, we can see how different objects appear in different ways on each map. Mercator Projection Robinson Projection Equal Area Projection

How to use a map Parts of a Map Locator Globe: Shows you where on the globe the area of the map is located Compass Rose: Shows you direction. (North, South, East, West) Key: Shows you the symbols and colors used on the map, and what each one means. Scale Bar: Helps you find the actual distances between points shown on the map. How to use a map Mapmakers provide several clues to help you understand the information on a map. Maps provide different clues, depending on their purpose or scale. However, most maps have several clues in common.

Political and Physical Maps Political Maps Physical Maps Political maps show political borders: continents and countries. The colors on political maps do not have any special meaning, but they make the map easier to read. Political maps also include symbols and labels for capitals, cities and towns. Physical maps represent what a region looks like by showing its major physical features, such as hills and plains. Physical maps also often show elevation and relief. Elevation is the height of the land above sea level. Relief shows how sharply the land rises and falls.

Comparing Political and Physical Maps Political Map Physical Map On which map would it be easier to find Los Angeles, California? Why? On which map would it be easier to find the highest peak in North America? Why?

Questions? Repeats? Did you miss anything? The End Questions? Repeats? Did you miss anything?