What is Geography? Geography is the study of the earth and of the ways people live and work on it Geography helps explain why people live the way they do and the influence it had on how civilizations developed

Five Themes of Geography: 1 Location Location: Where a place is located on the earth Relative location is the location of a place in relation to other places Absolute location is the exact location of a place Relative Location: Harrisburg is west of Philadelphia, east of Pittsburgh, and along the Susquehanna River Absolute Location: No other place is located where Harrisburg is found on the earth

Five Themes of Geography: 2 Place Place can be identified by its Physical Characteristics: Climate, mountains, animals, bodies of water, etc. and Human Characteristics: Language, population, jobs, etc. These give a place its own identity -Nationalism: Feelings of pride and loyalty for one’s country -Economics: The way the world’s resources are distributed -Government: Systems by which people rule and control a civilization

Five Themes of Geography: 3 Human/Environmental Human/Environmental Interaction: This is how people use, adapt, or change their environment. -Building irrigation systems for farming is an example of how people have changed their environment

Five Themes of Geography: 4 Movement Movement: Movement centers on how people and places are connected through travel and transportation systems Cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships have transformed the way goods and people travel around the globe today

Five Themes of Geography: 5 Regions Regions: Geographers have defined various types of regions around the world. These have been set based on human and physical characteristics. Share common characteristics! -Physical Characteristics: The Mojave Desert is a dry desert region in the Southwestern United States -Human Characteristics: French is a common spoken language in Quebec, Canada. This is a region of a country that is identified by a common language