The 5 Themes of Geography

1. Location -The LOCATION of a place means where on Earth it is. It can be absolute or relative. A. Absolute Location: a definite reference to locate a place, such as latitude/longitude, a street address, etc EXAMPLE: This school ‘s absolute location is: Latitude 42, 52’ North, Longitude 72 16’ West OR 580 Old Homestead Highway, Swanzey, New Hampshire

B. Relative location describes a place in respect to other places. EXAMPLE: This school ‘s relative location could be: -South of Keene, NH North of Richmond, NH Next to the South Branch of the Ashuelot River At the base of Mount Caesar Just past the Swanzey Post Office

2. Place -PLACE describes the human (man made) and physical (natural) characteristics of a location HUMAN characteristics: religion, jobs, land use, architecture, traditions. PHYSICAL characteristics: mountains, rivers, beaches, lakes, animal and plant life, climate.

3. Human-Environment Interaction -HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION considers how humans shape their environment, and how the environment shapes humans.

Question: How did you end up with the clothes you are wearing? 4. Movement -MOVEMENT describes how things move: people, methods of communication, fads, goods & resources. Question: How did you end up with the clothes you are wearing?

5. Region -REGION divides the world up into units, according to something the area has in common. There are several types: A. Political region: These are official regions, and have clear, legal boundaries.

B. Physical Region: A region that is defined by physical features.

5. Region C. Cultural: A region where people share common traditions. It is unofficial, but seen as a region by people. It rarely has official boundaries