5 Themes of Geography

1. 5 Themes of Geography

2. What is Geography • Geography • The Study of Earth's physical features: the study of all the physical features of the Earth's surface, including its climate and the distribution of plant, animal, and human life. • There are 5 main parts that make up geography • These are known as the “5 Themes of Geography”

3. Location • Where is this feature located? Where are you located? • Absolute Location: This is the specific and definite location of a place • Could use latitude and longitude or even a street address of a place • Ex: Edison School is located at 5801 Main Ave. Bow, Wa. 98232 • Relative Location: This is a more basic way to describe where a place is. • Relative location describes a place with regard to it’s surroundings • Ex: Edison School is located west of Chuckanut Drive, south of the Edison slough and East of Samish Bay

4. Place • Describes the characteristics of a location • Physical Characteristics: Natural features of the earth • Mountains, rivers, beaches, animal and plant life • Human Characteristics: Human changes to the environment • Roads, bridges, buildings, human use of the land

5. Human- Environment Interaction • How humans modify the land and adapt to their environment • This may have positive and negative impacts on the environment • Creating farms and cities • Building dams on rivers • Logging

6. Movement • The migration and movement of people, goods and information around the world • The exchange of information may change the way other areas of the world interact with the land • Ex: Native Americans in Washington • The movement of people changes the way the land is used in new places • Colonization of and movement west across the United States

7. Region • Regions divide the world into smaller units for study • Formal Regions: Official boundaries such as city limits, county, state and national boarders • Functional Regions: Limited by distance • Ex: The functional region of a school bus is generally within that school district. • The functional region of a newspaper is its area of circulation • Technology and the internet are changing some functional regions • Vernacular Regions: No formal borders, but rather create mental maps • Ex: “The Pacific Northwest” or “The South”