GEOGRAPHY — The Five Themes of Geography – Flashcards

1) Location 2) Place 3) Human - Environment Interaction 4) Movement 5) Region

Every place on Earth has a location. Location is defined in terms of ABSOLUTE and RELATIVE location. The theme of location is concerned with the question: "Where is it?" A) Absolute Location B) Relative Location

A) Absolute Location — The exact spot on Earth where something is found. Example: Niambey, the capital of Niger, is located at 13-31' North Latitue and 2-07' East Longitude. B) Relative Location — The position of a place in relation to other places. Example: Yosemite National Park is located north of Los Angeles, California, and east of San Francisco California.

Every place on Earth has special characteristics that make it different from every other place. Place deals with physical and human characteristics of a place. Place is concerned with: "What is it like there?" A) Physical Place B) Human Place

A) Physical Place — Every place can be described in terms of its physical characteristics, including weather, land features, plants and animals. Example: The Sahel in Africa is hot and dry. B) Human Place — Every place can be described in terms of its human features. This includes the people of a place, their culture and their ideas.

People are constantly interacting with their surroundings. Deals with how people ADAPT TO and CHANGE their environment. It answers the question: "What is the relationship between people and their environment?" A) Physical Environment B) Human Environment

A) Physical Environment — People adapt to their environment. Example: People who live in the Sahara wrap their heads with heavy material to keep the hot sun and sand off of their faces. B) Human Environment: People change their environment. Example: The engineers of a water project might choose to dam up a river in order to build a reservoir to supply water to a city.

Relates to the question: "How are people and the places connected?" People, goods, and ideas move continuously. The movement of people, goods and ideas is called spatial interaction. A) Physical Movement B) Human Movement

A) Physical Movement — People meet their needs either by traveling to other places or trading with people in other places. Example: Open markets in Morocco provide centers where herders and farmers can trade their goods. B) Human Movement — As the amount of movement and kinds of transportation change, so do geographic features. Example: The movement of tourists into Yosemite National Park has created a need for a shuttle bus service.

A region is an area defined by common characteristics. Geographers often divide the world into regions or areas, based on physical features (land, plant) and human (government, language) characteristics than differences. Region answers the question: "How is a place similar to and different from other places?" A) Physicial Region B) Human Region

A) Physicial Region — can be defined in various ways such as land type, plant and animal life, natural resources, climate, etc. B) Human Region — can be defined by language, religion, politics, etc. EXAMPLES 1) Uniform Region — The boundaries are determined by the distribution of some uniform characteristics such as cotton, wheat, corn, etc. (the belts). 2) Functional Region — An area that focuses on a central point with surrounding territory linked to that central point by transportation networks or by peoples need such as work, shopping or entertainment. A METROPOLITAN AREA is a functional region.