The Five Themes of Geography

LOCATION “Where is it?” Relative location In relation to other areas Absolute location Longitude Latitude PLACE “What is it like?” Physical Characteristics Physical features Landforms, climate, plant & animal life Human Characteristics Human footprint Culture, ethnicity, language, religion, population, etc.

Human Movement  the actual movement of humans from place to place  Examples: Transportation Migration Expansion Non-human Movement  the movement of goods (imports & exports), information & ideas  Examples: Imports/Exports Technology Communication

 A map is a symbolic representation of the earth or a part of the earth in a 2-D form  The only true representation of the Earth is a globe  All maps have distortion

 Cartography: The study and practice of making maps  Parts of a Map: Title: what the map is about Key (Legend): explains symbols & colors on the map Scale: shows the relationships of measures on a map to actual measurements on the Earth Compass Rose: directional marker (N,S,E,W)

General Purpose Maps  Show a wide range of general information about an area  Physical (Topographical) Maps show the shape of the Earth’s surface  Political Maps show boundaries, cities, etc. Specific Purpose Maps  Highlights specific human and/or physical characteristics about an area across the entire map Road Map Time Zone Map Population Map

“What do places have in common?” “What are the relationships and patterns?”  Geographers use this to organize the world into smaller, more manageable areas for analysis and geographic study  Human and Physical characteristics define a region by unifying an area  This is also known as spatial organization  3 TYPES OF REGIONS: 1.Formal 2.Functional 3.Perceptual/Vernacular

 Designated by official boundaries  Clearly indicated and publicly known  Examples: cities, states, counties and countries

 Defined by their connections and the functions they provide  Examples : transit systems (subways), malls, subdivisions (Legend Oaks or The Bridges)

 Based on opinion, culture, and perspective  Examples: “The South”, “Middle East”, “The Midwest”  No formal boundaries, but are understood in our mental maps