1. 5 Themes of Geography
Mr. Gingras

2. Geography Geography is the study of the earth and the people on it
Because this is a large topic, geographers give us 5 Themes to start.

3. What are the five themes?
Tools geographer’s use to study features on earth.
1) Location
2) Place
3) Region
4) Movement
5) Human Environment Interaction

4. 1. Location Location is where things are located on the earth.
2 Types:
ABSOLUTE: exact location on earth.
Measured with latitude and longitude
Doesn’t change.
JMS: 42N, 71W
Tokyo, Japan: 35N, 139E
Cape Town, South Africa: 34S,18E
RELATIVE: location compared to other places
Changes dependent upon where you’re comparing it to
Rome is near the Mediterranean Sea.
The United States is North of Mexico.
Walpole is Southwest of Boston

5. Absolute Location Examples: JMS: 42N, 71W Rome, Italy: 41N, 12E
Tokyo, Japan: 35N, 139E
Cairo, Egypt: 30N, 31E
Cape Town, South Africa: 34S,18E

6. Relative Location Examples: Rome is near the Mediterranean Sea.
The United States is North of Mexico.
Walpole is Southwest of Boston.
Norwood is Northeast of Walpole

7. 2. Place Place: what a location is like Physical characteristics
What human and physical characteristics make it different from all others?
Physical characteristics
B) Human characteristics

8. Physical Characteristics
The way a location looks
Landforms, bodies of water, etc. specific to THAT place.
Created by nature.
Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Seas. Climate, Vegetation
Examples:
The Andes Mountains of South America.
The Amazon River flows through Brazil.
The Pampas are located in Argentina.

9. Human Characteristics
What the people are like
All the ways to describe a person or people, including their way of life, values and beliefs specific to THAT place.
Man-made or invented.
Language, Buildings, Religious Practices, Celebrations, traditions
Examples:
Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.
Many Mexicans are Catholic.
Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico.

10. 3. Region
The world can be divided into different regions based on similarities.
This makes it easier to study and understand physical and human characteristics over large areas.

11. Physical Characteristics
Landforms, bodies of water and climate that cover a large area.
For example:
Mountain ranges
Coastal communities
“Tornado Alley”
The Northeast

12. Human Characteristics
The ways of life, values and beliefs of the people living in an area.
Examples:
Religion – Islamic regions
Economics – Poor neighborhoods
Language - Southern Accents
Race – The Asian population

13. 4. Movement How people, goods, and ideas move from place to place.
People and places are linked together, especially in today’s world! (Globalization)

14. 4. Movement - examples Movement of People:
Planes, Trains, Automobiles
Movement of ideas (communication)
The internet (Facebook, twitter, vine, pinterest and SO much more)
Phones (iMessage, text, facetime, etc.) TV
Education
Movement of goods
Cargo ships, Freight trains, UPS

15. 5. Human Environment Interaction
People and the environment are closely connected:
People can adapt to the environment
People can modify (or change) the environment

16. Adapt
People make changes to their way of life in order to be comfortable, successful, healthy, safe or happy.
For example, people:
Wear different clothing depending on the weather
Eat different foods depending on what is available
Build shelters that protect them from weather conditions
Wear bug spray

17. Modify
People change the environment around them in order to be comfortable, successful, healthy, safe or happy.
For example, people:
Build damns
Build wind farms
Mine or dig for fuel
Spray insecticide

18. Human Environment Interaction
Current Environmental Issues:
Climate Change (global warming)
Energy Resources
Water Conservation
Deforestation

19. Review: What are the five themes?
Location
-Where things are located on Earth, both in absolute and relative terms
2) Place
- Physical and human characteristics that make a place distinct from others
3) Region
- What common physical and human characteristics link a place to other parts of the world
4) Movement
- How the movement of people, goods, and ideas affect a place
5) Human Environment Interaction
- How the lands affects the people and how the people affect the land

20. Assignment What does each theme look like?
In the top box, explain each theme.
In the bottom box, draw a picture that represents each theme.
Your picture should clearly describe the theme.
Be creative, and thoughtful.