The Five Themes of Geography
Unit 1: Intro to Geography
Geo 12
Ms. Thind
September 2, 2011
Location
 Position
on the earth’s surface
 Two types of location:
Relative Location uses comparison
Eg: 250 km north of Vancouver
 Absolute Location uses longitude and latitude
Eg: 20° 15’ 30” North and 45° 28’ 10”

Movement
 The
varied patterns in the movement of:
1. Life Forms: Migration of people and
animals
2. Ideas: Ways we communicate
3. Materials: Trade routes, glaciers
Human and Physical
Interaction
 The
way humans depend on, adapt to,
and modify the environment.
How do we depend on the environment?
How do we adapt to the environment?
How do we modify the environment?
Place
 Describes
the physical and human
characteristics that make a location
unique.
 Human
characteristics:
 Physical
characteristics:
Regions
 Basic
units of study that define an area
with certain human and/or physical
characteristics.
 Eg:
Climate zones, vegetation zones,
mountainous
Three types of regions:
1) Formal: defined by governmental or admin.
boundaries.
EG: provinces: BC and Alberta or countries: Canada
and US
2) Functional: those defined by a function.
EG: newspaper service area, police dept, shopping districts.
3) Vernacular regions: loosely defined by peoples
perception.
EG: The Middle East, The Maritimes