1. Five Themes of Geography
Map Skills
Five Themes of Geography

2. Five Themes of Geography
There are five themes of geography. These themes answer the questions: Where is it? Why is it there? and What are the consequence of its being there?
Five Themes of Geography
Location
Place
Human/Environment Interaction
Movement
Regions

3. 40° 42' 51" N longitude 74° 0' 23" W latitude.
Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION
The first of the five themes is Location - a point or an area on Earth.
Absolute location can be a street
address or the latitude and longitude
of a place. It’s very specific.
The absolute location
of New York City is:
40° 42' 51" N longitude
74° 0' 23" W latitude.

4. Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION
Longitude = It’s a LONG, LONG WAY from the north pole to the south pole
Vertical lines around the Earth parallel to the prime meridian
Latitude = Ladder – tude
Horizontal lines around the Earth parallel to the equator
NORTH POLE
LONG, LONG, LONG WAY
PRIME MERIDIAN
EQUATOR
EQUATOR
SOUTH POLE

5. New York City is on the eastern seaboard of the United State.
Five Themes of Geography - LOCATION
The Relative location describes the location of a place compared to other places.
New York City is on the eastern seaboard of the United State.
The City was built where the Hudson River flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Big Apple is in the southeast corner of New York State.

6. Five Themes of Geography - PLACE
The second of the five themes is Place. – the physical and human characteristics of a location.
Physical characteristics refer to mountains, animals, vegetation, bodies of water, etc. of a location.
Human characteristics refer architecture, religion, food, language patterns, transportation, occupations, etc. people bring to an area.

7. Five Themes of Geography – HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
The third of the five themes is Human/Environment Interaction is the way humans and the environment get along with each other.
Humans depend on the environment. People use the environment for what they need to live. No matter where you live, you depend on your environment for food, shelter and clothing.
Humans modify the environment.
People learned a long time ago how to modify the environment to make their lives better. Tools from stone, bone and later metal were used to plow fields and irrigate crops.
Humans adapt to the environment. People have managed to find ways to live in almost every corner of the planet. Some people have built their homes on poles to protect them from flooding.

8. Five Themes of Geography – MOVEMENT
The fourth of the five themes is Movement – the ways people and ideas move around the Earth..
Humans move from one place to another. We travel by boat, air, train, car, etc.
Ideas, products, and resources move around Earth. Yes, it is impossible to comprehend, but it wasn’t so long ago that there were no internet, smart phones, or computers.

9. Regions can be determined by …
Five Themes of Geography - REGIONS
The fifth of the five themes is Regions.
Regions can be determined by …
… similar physical characteristics such as mountains, plains or deserts.
… similar human characteristics such population, language, traditions, etc.