Geography…More Than Meets
the Eye!
The Five Themes of Geography
• Draft a paragraph describing the place
you live.
• Identify the following:
– Climate, landforms, region, location,
culture, etc.
– What makes the place we live unique?
What makes it similar to other places?
• After today, you should know:
• What are the 5 Themes of
Geography!
– The difference between Absolute
and Relative Location
– What characteristics define place
vs. region
– Human-Environment Interaction
– Movement
• The five themes of geography are a
framework for studying Geography in an
organized fashion!
– Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction,
Movement, & Region
The Five Themes of Geography
1. Location:
 Asks the big
question…
 Where is it?
 Why is it located
there?
 This deals with
maps
 Tell me how to get
your house..
The Five Themes of Geography
1. Location: 2 types
 Absolute Location—to locate a place using
a coordinate system (given in degrees of
longitude and latitude)
 Ex: 300 N and 700 W, or 313 1st Street
 Relative Location—to locate a place in
relationship to other landmarks or places
 Ex: “Down the street from my grandma’s
house on the corner with the big elm tree”
The Five Themes of Geography
2. Place:
 Asks the big
question…
 What is it like?
 How is it
different from
other places?
The Five Themes of Geography
2. Place:
 Physical Characteristics—landforms
(mountains, plains), bodies of water (oceans,
lakes, rivers) ecosystems (soil, plants,
animals, & climate) features that make places
different from one another
 Human Characteristics—bridges, roads,
buildings, culture, language
The Five Themes of Geography
 Examples:
 Canada, U.S., and Mexico are all in North
America, but politics makes them different
places and countries
 Economics also make places different—North
vs. South Korea
 Religion makes a place different—Jerusalem
in the Middle East
 Can you think of one of your own?
The Five Themes of Geography
3. Human-Environment Interaction:
 Asks the big question…
 How do people interact with and
change their environment?
The Five Themes of Geography
3. Human-Environment Interaction:
 People depend on the environment
 People adapt to the environment
 People modify the environment
• What is the purpose of the 5 Themes of Geography?
• Name the first theme of Geography? What question
does it answer?
• What is the difference between absolute and relative
location?
• What two types of characteristics define the theme or
“Place”?
• The theme of “Human-Environment Interaction” deals
with the ways in which people _______________ on,
_______________ to, and ____________________ the
environment.
The Five Themes of Geography
4. Movement:
 Asks the big question…
 How are people and places linked by
communication and the flow of people,
ideas and goods?
The Five Themes of Geography
4. Movement:
 Transportation,
communication, trade
 Patterns of movement such
as migration
 Ways that ideas are
transferred from one location
to another
 Trade and Migration change
our world
The Five Themes of Geography
5. Region:
 Asks the big
question…
 What are their
unifying features
and how do they
form and change
over time?
The Five Themes of Geography
5. Region:
 Areas that share common features
 Region is a basic unit for geographic study
 Geographers divide the world into regions to
help them interpret and understand the world
 Regions can be defined on the basis of:
physical and human characteristics
The Five Themes of Geography
 Formal
 Designated by official boundaries, such as cities,
states, counties, and countries.
 Functional
 Defined by their connections (housing plans,
shopping or cultural districts, etc.)
 Vernacular
 Perceived regions, such as "The South," "The
Midwest," or the "Middle East;“ no formal
boundaries but are understood in our mental maps
of the world.
• Objective: to apply the 5
Themes of Geography to an
actual study…Ecuador!
Ecuador Wow!!!
1. Location: Record all responses on worksheet #1
 Look at the map of Ecuador and determine
the absolute location of Quito, Ecuador
 You can also use the textbook, page 204
 Which lines of latitude and longitude does Ecuador fall
between?
 Next, determine the relative location of
Ecuador and then record it on the
information worksheet
 Give at least 3 reference points!
The Five Themes of Geography
2. Place: Record all responses on worksheet #2
 Look at the story and pictures in “Ecuador
WOW!”
 List all of the physical features (gifts of
nature, including climate) you can identify in
the photographs
 Next, look for the human features (what
makes a place unique—culture) that you can
find in the photographs and text, then record
them on worksheet 2.

Look at the clothing, buildings, foods, celebrations,
and landscape of the region.
The Five Themes of Geography
3. Human-Environment Interaction:
Record all responses on worksheet #3
 Look at the story of “Ecuador WOW”?
 How people have adapted to, depended
on, and modified the environment in
Ecuador?
 Respond on worksheet 3
The Five Themes of Geography
4. Movement: Record all responses on worksheet
#4
 Look at the story of “Ecuador WOW”?
 Examine the photographs and read the
text in “Ecuador Wow!” to find how
goods, ideas, and people move in and
out of Ecuador, and record them on
worksheet #4
The Five Themes of Geography
2. Region: Record all responses on worksheet
#5
 Look back at the information you
recorded on Worksheets 1, 2, 3, & 4…
 Decide what type(s) of region(s) Ecuador
fits into with other countries of South
America
 The region may be defined as an economic
region, geographic region, or one defined by
human or physical characteristics.