The Five Themes of Geography Cape Town, South Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_W4EWVNO0&feature=fvsr

The Five Themes of Geography 1. LOCATION: Most geographic studies begin with learning the location of a place. Location can be absolute or relative.

The Five Themes of Geography Relative location describes a place with respect to its environment and its connection to other places.

The Five Themes of Geography Relative Location: South Africa is located at the southern most tip of Africa. South Africa shares a border with Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Cape Town is a city in South Africa located at the southern most point of the country in the Western Cape State.

The Five Themes of Geography Absolute location provides a definite reference to locate a place. The reference can be latitude and longitude or a street address.

The Five Themes of Geography Absolute Location: Cape Town, South Africa is located 33° 55', south (latitude) of the equator and 18° 27', east of the meridian (longitude).

The Five Themes of Geography 2. PLACE: Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location.

The Five Themes of Geography Human Characteristics: Human-designed cultural features of a place; land use, architecture, forms of livelihood, religion, food, transportation, and communication networks.

The Five Themes of Geography Human Characteristics: Cape Town was founded by the Dutch. Dutch cultural can still be seen in the architecture. African tribal and Dutch culture have blended in Cape Town's food and religion. Both cultures still exist in the cities livelihoods.

The Five Themes of Geography Physical Characteristics: mountains, rivers, beaches, animal life, and plant life

The Five Themes of Geography Physical Characteristics: Mountains include Table Mountain. Beaches include Camp's Bay, Clifton, and Hout Bay. Cape Town's diverse animal life includes Penguins and Sharks. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate with an abundance of plant life.

The Five Themes of Geography 3. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: How humans adapt to and modify the environment. Humans shape the landscape through their interaction with the land; this has both positive and negative effects on the environment.

The Five Themes of Geography Human-Environment Interaction: Positive effect on the land has been the cultivation of vineyards and farms. Negative effect on the land has been that many native animal species have been forced to relocate.

The Five Themes of Geography 4. MOVEMENT: Humans move, a lot! In addition, ideas, fads, goods, resources, and communication all travel distances. This theme studies movement and migration across the planet.

The Five Themes of Geography Movement: The KhoSan people of Northern Africa were the first people in Southern Africa, 2,000 BC. Later the Bantu tribes of Northern and Western Africa migrated to the Cape, 4th Century AD. These tribes included the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, and Tswana.

The Five Themes of Geography Movement: The Dutch began migrating to Cape Town in 1652. These Dutch farmers were called Boers. Later they developed the Afrikaans language and now this large population in Cape Town is called Afrikaners. The Dutch migration is still widely visible in all aspects of culture in the Cape, from food to architecture.

The Five Themes of Geography 5. REGION: Defined by their connections. Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East;" they have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps of the world.

The Five Themes of Geography Vernacular Region: Cape Town is part of the Western Cape Provence. It is also part of the region of Southern Africa.