Why study geography?

To understand more about the changing world we live in

To learn more about the people and cultures of the world so that we can better understand each other

To evaluate the connection between the earth and those who live on it

What are the Five Themes of Geography? The concepts that geographers use to

study the world and the people that inhabit it.

They are all connected Use all five themes to truly understand

the geography of a place

Location

Asks the question: Where is it?

Here’s Madagascar!

Can be relative location, which uses descriptions to find

places on the earth.

Example: I live in New Hope near the McDonalds on Medicine Lake

Road.

Can be absolute location, which uses a system to find an exact spot on the earth.

Examples: latitude and longitude, address with zip

codes, GPS, map coordinates

Place

Asks: What are the characteristics of a location?

Describes what it is like there

For example, how would you describe Armstrong High School?

Can be physical features

• Climate – temperature, rainfall• Landforms – plateaus, plains• Topography - elevation• Flora - plants• Fauna - animals• Resources – petroleum, gemstones

Can be human characteristics

Such as population statistics, economic activities, religion, language, government

Human Environment Interaction

How do we use the earth? How have we changed the earth?

Examples of HEI

Growing corn in Farmington Mining iron ore from the Iron Range Skiing down Buck Hill Fishing on Medicine Lake Cars consuming gasoline and polluting the air AHS built out of brick Deforestation of the Himalayas so that homes

can be built

MovementHow do people, goods and ideas get from

one place to another?

Examples of movement

►Trading products between countries►Migration of people to new areas►Buying clothes over the internet►Flying overseas to visit your relatives►Coming to school on the bus this

morning►Urban sprawl

Region

How is this place similar to other places?

Are there common characteristics?

There are different types of regions:• Formal (Uniform) Region – a common

characteristic throughout (Gulf Coast states, South Asia)

• Functional (Nodal) Region – areas connected to a central location (Twin Cities metro area)

Regions can overlap!

Know these themes!

DefinitionsExamplesQuestions they answer

We will use them throughout the semester as we analyze the different

areas of the world!