Five Themes of Geography
M ovement R egion H uman and E nivronmental Interation (HEI) L ocation P lace
Geography Definition: The study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on the earth
Location “Where is it?” Specific location on the earth Two types of location: Absolute location Relative location
Location Ms. Case’s Room What is the absolute location? 1015 What is the relative location? Near Mrs. Lizana’s room Seven Lakes High School What is the absolute location? 9251 South Fry Road Katy, TX What is the relative location? South of I-10
ABSOLUTE (Location) Exact location Earth Divided into Hemispheres- N,S,E,W Use longitude & latitude to find the location (25 N, 30E) Use coordinates, addresses, room numbers, etc. to find the absolute location.
RELATIVE (Location) Relative Location= tells things around it to get you there. USA is located south of Canada and north of Mexico. I told you where USA was located by telling you things close to it.
Place Answer’s the question… “What is it like there?” This will let you know the UNIQUE Physical and Cultural Characteristics of a location.
Place How you would describe Houston according to Place? California? New York City? Italy?
Human/Environment Interaction “How do people relate to the physical world?” How do people change the environment to fit their needs? How do people change to fit the environment they are living in?
Human/Environment Interaction Human beings work to alter their environments to make them better places or to provide needed goods. Not all alterations are good ideas. Sometimes these alterations create new problems such as pollution. Examples of HEI: Slash-and-burn farming, Three Gorges Dam, urban sprawl, and terraced farming, air conditioning
Human/Environment Interaction
Regions Region will answer the question, “How are areas similar or different?”
Regions A region is an area of the earth’s surface with similar characteristics (physical, political, economic, cultural). There are three different types of regions: Formal, Functional, and Perceptual.
FORMAL (Region) A formal region is a geographic area that can be defined by a similar human or physical characteristics. Some examples: The Middle East, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
FUNCTIONAL (Region) A functional region is a group of places that are linked together by a common purpose or use. Usually the region has a central place, or hub, and links going to that main area.
FUNCTIONAL (Region) Example: Houston and its suburbs (highways, subways, bus lines take people to the city for work, games, etc.)
PERCEPTUAL (Regions) A perceptual region is a geographic area without precise borders and is known to have commonly held views. Examples: Midwest, South, New England Bible Belt, Red Sox Nation, and Tornado Alley….you can’t put an exact border on any of these but each one of them has distinct beliefs or similar characteristics.
PERCEPTUAL (Regions)
Movement “How do people, ideas, and products move from one location to another?”
Movement Movement of items, people or ideas from place to place. Three kinds of distance: Linear, Time, and Psychological Distance
LINEAR DISTANCE (Movement) This simply means how far across the earth did a person, idea, or product travel. This could be made longer or shorter by longer or shorter by physical features physical features (Before and after (Before and after Panama Canal). Panama Canal).
TIME DISTANCE (Movement) This is the amount of time it takes a person, idea, or product to travel. Modern inventions have shortened time distances (1800’s TX to California compared to now to California). What about the internet? How quickly can ideas travel now?
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE (Movement) This refers to the way people view distance. When we were younger, some locations seemed very far…when you get older, it doesn’t seem as far. Why? Studies say when we become familiar with a place we think it is closer than it actually is (Grandma’s house).
MRHELP