GeographyThe Five Themes

of Geography

What is Geography?Geography is the study of the Earth. Geographers study how the Earth and its people affect each other.

The two basic questions of Geographers

Where are things located?Why are they there?

Five Themes of Geography

LocationPlaceHuman-environment interactionMovementRegions

Why are these themes important?

Geographers use these five themes to help them organize information.

1. LocationTwo ways to talk about location

RelativeAbsolute

Relative Location

Describing places near it.

Example: Columbus School is about 1 block down from the Post Office.

Absolute LocationA place’s exact position on the Earth.Geography use two imaginary lines-latitude and longitude

Absolute Location- Latitude lines

Latitude lines circle the globe east- west. They are also called parallels.The Equator is a latitude line.

Absolute Location –Longitude lines

Longitude line circle the earth North to SouthThey are also called Meridians.The Prime Meridian (0 degrees) runs through Greenwich, England.All meridian lines run through the North and South poles.

The unit of measure used by geographers to measure location on maps is called?

DEGREES

2. PlacesA location’s physical and human features.

Example: Climate is hot or coldLand is hillyMight describe how many people and what work they do.

3. Human-environment Interaction

How people affect their environment and how their environment affects them.

Good and bad consequences of people’s interactions with their environment.

4. MovementHow people, goods and ideas get from on place to another.Helps in the understanding of cultural changes.

5. RegionsGeographers use the theme of regions to make comparisons.

Comparing characteristics such as climate, land, populations, or history.