The 5 Themes of Geography Location Place Movement

The 5 Themes of Geography Location Place Movement Regions Human-Environment Interaction

Location: There are 2 ways to talk about location: ü Absolute Location ü Relative Location

Absolute Location ü “Geographic address” ü The exact location of a place found by using latitude and longitude coordinates ü The exact location of a place using a numerical address ü Example: Chicago is 42 degrees North and 88 degrees West

Relative Location ü Describing a location using places around it. ü Can use cardinal directions ü Can be described using distance ü Example: WJHS: North of Chicago, a mile from the highway and on the far and across from the MEC.

Place: There are 2 ways to describe place: ü Place includes a locations physical and human features ü Physical characteristics ü Human characteristics

Physical Characteristics ü “Naturally occurring” ü This can include climate, landforms (mountains, plateaus, plains), bodies of water and elevation ü Example: Lake Michigan is a physical characteristic of the city of Chicago

Human Characteristics ü These characteristics are derived from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment. ü Not “naturally occurring” ü Built to help accommodate the lifestlyes of the people. ü Examples: Buildings, parks, bridges, houses and schools.

Human-Environment Interaction ü How people affect their environment ü How the environment affects its people ü Physical characteristics of peoples natural surroundings ü Helps us to understand the consequence of peoples actions on their environment ü There can be both positive, negative and neutral effects ü Examples: pollution, recycling, deforestation, natural disasters

Human-Environment Interaction Continued… ü Humans adapt to the environment- wearing clothes that are suitable to the environment ü Humans modify the environment- heating and cooling buildings based on desired climate ü Humans depend on the environment- we depend on the Chicago River for water and transportation

Movement ü Explains how people, goods and ideas get from one place to another ü This includes the movement of people, import and export of goods, and mass communication have played major roles in reshaping our world

Examples of Movement ü Communication- email, phone, mail ü Knowledge- news, internet, newspaper ü Currency ü Fashion trends ü Political thoughts

Regions ü The basic unit of study in geography ü An area that displays unifying characteristics such as: government, language, physical features, vegetation and natural resources. ü Regions are used to make comparisons between places