5 Themes of Geography
A Tool for Understanding Geography
LOCATION
Where on earth is it?
2 types of Location:
- Absolute: coordinates of latitude and longitude (ex: Seattle is at 48° N, 122° W)
- Relative: location in relation to something else (ex: Seattle is north of Portland)
PLACE
What makes this location unique? What are characteristics that bring a picture to mind when people think of this location?
- Physical - natural characteristics like topography, land forms, climate, and plants & animals found there. Example: Seattle is known as the cloudiest place in the United States.
- Human - human-made characteristics and cultural features like religions, political organization, common industries, common foods, architecture, etc. Example: Seattle is called the Emerald City and is home to Grunge and the Space Needle. Coffee.
Geography Terms
How can these be used to describe a location's Place?
Sahara Desert
How is this an example of Place?
Wisconsin Cheese Heads
How is this an example of Place?
Human-Environment Interaction
How do humans adapt to the environment? How do they change the environment?
Humans depend on the environment and must adapt to the environment and alter the environment through activities like irrigation, farming, damming rivers, and building roads and train tracks.
Example: Citizens in Seattle heat their homes with natural gas furnaces. Seattle gets its water from the Cedar River Watershed which was built out of an existing river.
Thermostat
How is this an example of human-environment interaction?
Watershed
How is this an example of human-environment interaction?
Irrigation
How is this an example of human-environment interaction?
MOVEMENT
How are places linked to one another and the rest of the world? The movement of people, goods, and ideas are all part of Movement.
Port of Seattle
How is this an example of Movement?
Tech Workers
How is this an example of Movement?
Monorail
How is this an example of Movement?
Region
What do places have in common? Regions can be based on a variety of things, for example, religion, politics, landforms, economics, culture, etc. Example: Seattle is in the Northwest region of the United States and is part of the Puget Sound region of Washington.
Parts of the U.S.
What are these regions based on? Can you think of more U.S. regions that are similar?
The Wheat Belt
What is this region based on?
Cultural Regions
What do you notice about these cultural regions?