Transcript The Five Themes of Geography What are the Five Themes?

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Location
Place
Region
Human-Environment Interaction
Movement
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Absolute location allows us to pinpoint
the exact location of any point on the surface
of the earth using latitude and longitude or
a grid system
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Relative location refers to the way a place is
perceived and how that place relates to other
places.
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Can be measured in terms of time- “twenty minutes away”
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Important for decision-making.
Alaska is closer to Russia than it is to the “lower
48,” but that is not how we perceive it.
Absolute Location
Relative Location
Our perceptions are based on relative location.
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Physical Characteristics of Place:
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Physical Characteristics of Place:
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Topography
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Climate
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Vegetation
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Human Characteristics of Place:
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Human Characteristics of Place:
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Agriculture
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Architecture
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Religion
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Economics
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The region is the basic unit of geographic study
Criteria for defining regions depends on the geographer’s purpose.
One place can be part of several different regions.
Texas, US, and World culture regions
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Formal regions are based on some common
feature.
The Corn Belt
Where Islam dominates
Political entities
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Functional regions are created by
movement.
Austin metropolitan area
Amazon River Basin
Eanes attendance area
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Perceptual regions exist in people’s minds.
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Humans adapt to their physical environment.
clothing styles
Building materials
Humans modify their environment.
Open-pit mine
Terracing for rice farming
Human interaction with the environment can
have important consequences.
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Physical processes, people, goods, and ideas move across the
earth’s surface.
The geographer is concerned with the effects of this movement.
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They give us a “geographic lens” through
which to view the world.
Throughout the year, we will be using these
themes to view different parts of the world and
their cultures.
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You will be given a current news article by the
teacher.
Tonight, you need to read this article and
annotate it anywhere you find examples of the
five themes.
For example,
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“The tropical storm began in the Gulf of Mexico as a
hurricane but was downgraded when it hit the
coast.” (MOVEMENT)
“The climate on Mars is very similar to deserts on
Earth.” (PLACE)