Transcript 5 Themes of Geography

THE 5 THEMES OF
GEOGRAPHY
CH 1 SECTION 1 NOTES
What is Geography?
*It is the study of our earth; our
home.
OR
*Anything that can be mapped!
*Geography mixes up the physical
and human aspects of our world
into one field of study.
*Geography shows the
relationship between people and
the environment.
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The Five Themes of Geography
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There are five ways to look at the earth
When geographers work, they are guided by
two basic questions:
1) Where are things located?
2) Why are they there?
To find these answers, geographers use
five themes to organize information
THE FIVE THEMES OF
GEOGRAPHY
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Location
Place
Human-Environment Interaction
Movement
Regions
LOCATION
Where are we?
• Absolute Location
– A latitude and longitude
(global location) or a
street address (local
location).
– Paris France is 48o North
Latitude and 2o East
Longitude.
– The White House is
located at 1600
Pennsylvania Ave.
• Relative Location
– Described by landmarks,
time, direction or
distance. From one place
to another.
– Go 1 mile west on main
street and turn left for 1
block.
PLACE
What is it like there, what kind of place is it?
• Human
• Physical
Characteristics
Characteristics
• What are the main
languages, customs, and
beliefs.
• How many people live,
work, and visit a place.
• Landforms (mountains,
rivers, etc.), climate,
vegetation, wildlife, soil,
etc.
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTION
• How do humans and the environment affect
each other?
– We depend on it.
• People depend on the Tennessee River for water and
transportation.
– We modify it.
• People modify our environment by
heating and cooling buildings for comfort.
– We adapt to it.
• We adapt to the environment by wearing
clothing suitable for summer (shorts) and
winter (coats).
MOVEMENT
• How are people, goods, ideas moved from place
to place?
– Human Movement
• Trucks, Trains, Planes
– Information Movement
• Phones, computer (email), mail
– Idea Movement
• How do fads move from place to place?
TV, Radio, Magazines
REGIONS
• How are Regions similar to and different from other
places?
– Formal Regions
• Regions defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (States,
Countries, Cities)
• Regions defined by similar characteristics (Corn Belt, Rocky Mountain
region, Chinatown).
– Functional Regions
• Regions defined by a function (newspaper service area, cell phone
coverage area).
Remembering the 5 themes
• If you can’t remembering what they
are just ask MR. HELP!!!
• M – Movement
• R – Regions
• HE – Human Environment interaction
• L – Location
• P - Place
End of Day 1
Map Skills
The Geographer’s Tools
• Globes and Maps:
– As people explored the Earth, they collected
information about it.
– Mapmakers wanted to present this
information correctly.
– The best way was to put it on a globe, a round
ball that represented the Earth.
– Because globes are not practical or easy to use
to carry, flat maps were invented.
– However, the earth is round and a map is flat.
– Mapmakers had to find ways to make maps
accurate.
Getting It All On the Map
The World: Mercator Projection
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• In 1569, a geographer
named Gerardus Mercator
created a flat map to help
sailors navigate long
journeys across the globe.
• The Mercator projection, or
method of putting a map of
the Earth onto a flat piece of
paper, is used by nearly all
deep-sea navigators.
• The Mercator projection is a
conformal map, meaning
that it shows correct
shapes, but not true
distances or sizes.
• There are many types of
other projections of the
globe.
The World: Three Projections
Interrupted Projection
There are many ways to show a globe
on a flat map. The interrupted
projection map, on the left, shows
real sizes and shapes of continents.
The equal area map , below left,
shows size accurately. The Peters
projection, below, shows land and
oceans areas and correct directions
accurately
Peters Projection
Equal-Area Projection
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The World: A Robinson
Projection
ARCTIC OCEAN
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Types of Maps
There are three basic types of
maps:
PHYSICAL
POLITICAL
and
THEMATIC.
Physical Maps
• Physical maps show the
natural features of the
Earth.
• Physical maps do not
contain man made
features.
• For example, a physical
map would be a map of
what you would see if
you were looking down
on Earth from space.
Physical Maps
Political Maps
Political Maps
Unlike physical maps, political maps show how humans
have impacted the landscape. For example, city
names, roads, country borders, etc. are all part of
political maps.
Political maps change frequently (physical maps
change very, very slowly through geologic processes)
and must be redrawn often. A political map of the
world that is 50 years old is no longer accurate.
Wars and ethnic conflict are two major causes political
maps change.
Political Maps
Thematic Maps
Thematic maps can represent a variety of
information including things like climate,
precipitation, vegetation, elevation,
population, life expectancy, etc.
Thematic maps are generally used when
you are looking at a single piece of
information.
Thematic Maps
The Parts of a Map
Title:
• The title tells what the map is about. This is the first
part of the map you should look at.
The Parts of a Map
Scale
• The scale on a map tells you the relative distance on the
map to the real world. For example, a map’s scale may tell
you that one inch on the map equals one mile in the real
world.
Compass Rose
• A compass rose is a model of a compass. It tells the cardinal
directions, which are north, south, east, and west.
Key
• The key, or legend, on a map explains what the symbols on a
map represent, such as triangles representing trees.
Grids
• Some maps use a grid of parallels and meridians. On a map
of a small area, letters and numbers are often used to help
you find your location.
How Latitude and Longitude Form
the Global Grid
Latitude and longitude
• Latitude lines run across the
globe horizontally
• Lines of longitude run up and
down, vertically on the globe.
The Hemispheres
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The Hemispheres
• There are 4 hemispheres: Northern hemisphere,
Southern hemisphere, Eastern hemisphere, and
Western hemisphere
• The equator cuts the northern hemisphere and
southern hemisphere in half.
• The Prime Meridian cuts the eastern and western
hemisphere in half
End Day 2