5 T HEMES OF G EOGRAPHY How do we begin to study this big world?

L OCATION Absolute – Where a place is located exactly Longitude/Latitude GPS Address Relative – Where something is located in relation to somewhere else North/South/East/West “right by…”, “near…”, “across from…”

P LACE Physical Characteristics Landforms, weather, animals, plants, climate, natural resources, water… Whatever Mother Nature put there Human Characteristics Culture, buildings, language, religion… Whatever describes the human activity

R ELATIONSHIP How people relate to the environment How People: Use the environment Affect the environment Are affected by the environment

MOVEMENT How do people from one place interact with people from another? Involves movement of… People Information Ideas Goods Services

R EGIONS Classification 1 Physical Landforms Climates Vegetations Soils Cultural Language Religion Lifestyle Politics Industry Classification 2 Formal – one or more common features that make it different from surrounding areas Functional – different areas linked together and function as a unit Perceptual – reflect human feelings and attitudes Defined by common characteristics Can be classified in two ways: