Map Skills Five Themes of Geography Five Themes

Map Skills Five Themes of Geography

Five Themes of Geography There are five themes of geography. These themes answer the questions: Where is it? Why is it there? and What are the consequence of its being there? Five Themes of Geography Location Place Human/Environment Interaction Movement Regions

Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION The first of the five themes is Location - a point or an area on Earth. Absolute location can be a street address or the latitude and longitude of a place. It’s very specific. The absolute location of New York City is: 40° 42' 51" N longitude 74° 0' 23" W latitude.

Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION Longitude = It’s a LONG, LONG WAY from the north pole to the south pole Latitude = Ladder – tude Horizontal lines around the Earth parallel to the equator PRIME MERIDIAN EQUAT OR LONG, LONG WAY EQUAT OR Vertical lines around the Earth parallel to the prime meridian NORTH POLE SOUTH POLE

Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION The Relative location describes the location of a place compared to other places. New York City is on the eastern seaboard of the United State. The City was built where the Hudson River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Big Apple is in the southeast corner of New York State.

Five Themes of Geography - PLACE The second of the five themes is Place. – the physical and human characteristics of a location. Physical characteristics refer to mountains, animals, vegetation, bodies of water, etc. of a location. Human characteristics refer architecture, religion, food, language patterns, transportation, occupations, etc. people bring to an area.

Five Themes of Geography – HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION The third of the five themes is Human/Environment Interaction is the way humans and the environment get along with each other. Humans depend on the environment. People use the environment for what they need to live. No matter where you live, you depend on your environment for food, shelter and clothing. Humans modify the environment. People learned a long time ago how to modify the environment to make their lives better. Tools from stone, bone and later metal were used to plow fields and irrigate crops. Humans adapt to the environment. People have managed to find ways to live in almost every corner of the planet. Some people have built their homes on poles to protect them from flooding.

Five Themes of Geography – MOVEMENT The fourth of the five themes is Movement – the ways people and ideas move around the Earth. . Humans move from one place to another. We travel by boat, air, train, car, etc. Ideas, products, and resources move around Earth. Yes, it is impossible to comprehend, but it wasn’t so long ago that there were no internet, smart phones, or computers.

Five Themes of Geography - REGIONS The fifth of the five themes is Regions can be determined by … … similar physical characteristics such as mountains, plains or deserts. … similar human characteristics such population, language, traditions, etc.