Five Themes of
Geography
M ovement
R egion
H uman and
E nivronmental Interation (HEI)
L ocation
P lace
Geography
Definition:
The study of the distribution and
interaction of physical and human
features on the earth
Location
 “Where is it?”
 Specific location on the earth
 Two types of location:
 Absolute location
 Relative location
Location
 Ms. Case’s Room
 What is the absolute location? 1015
 What is the relative location? Near Mrs. Lizana’s
room
 Seven Lakes High School
 What is the absolute location?
9251 South Fry
Road Katy, TX 77494
 What is the relative location? South of I-10
ABSOLUTE
(Location)
 Exact location
 Earth Divided into HemispheresN,S,E,W
 Use longitude & latitude to find the
location (25 N, 30E)
 Use coordinates, addresses, room
numbers, etc. to find the absolute
location.
RELATIVE
(Location)
 Relative Location= tells things around
it to get you there.
 USA is located south of Canada and
north of Mexico.
 I told you where USA was located by
telling you things close to it.
Place
 Answer’s the question… “What is it like
there?”
 This will let you know the UNIQUE
Physical and Cultural Characteristics of a
location.
Place
 How you would describe Houston according
to Place?
 California?
 New York City?
 Italy?
Human/Environment
Interaction
 “How do people relate to the physical
world?”
 How do people change the environment to
fit their needs?
How do people change to fit the
environment they are living in?
Human/Environment
Interaction
 Human beings work to alter their environments to
make them better places or to provide needed goods.
 Not all alterations are good ideas. Sometimes these
alterations create new problems such as pollution.
 Examples of HEI: Slash-and-burn farming, Three
Gorges Dam, urban sprawl, and terraced farming,
air conditioning
Human/Environment
Interaction
Regions
 Region will answer the question, “How are
areas similar or different?”
Regions
 A region is an area of the earth’s surface with
similar characteristics (physical, political,
economic, cultural).
 There are three different types of regions:
Formal, Functional, and Perceptual.
FORMAL
(Region)
 A formal region is a geographic area that can
be defined by a similar human or physical
characteristics.
 Some examples: The Middle East, Latin
America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
FUNCTIONAL
(Region)
 A functional region is a group of places that are
linked together by a common purpose or use.
 Usually the region has a central place, or hub,
and links going to that main area.
FUNCTIONAL
(Region)
 Example: Houston and its suburbs (highways,
subways, bus lines take people to the city for
work, games, etc.)
PERCEPTUAL
(Regions)
 A perceptual region is a geographic area
without precise borders and is known to have
commonly held views.
 Examples: Midwest, South, New England
Bible Belt, Red Sox Nation, and Tornado
Alley….you can’t put an exact border on any
of these but each one of them has distinct
beliefs or similar characteristics.
PERCEPTUAL
(Regions)
PERCEPTUAL
(Regions)
Movement
“How do people, ideas, and products move from
one location to another?”
Movement
 Movement of items, people or ideas
from place to place.
 Three kinds of distance: Linear,
Time, and Psychological Distance
LINEAR DISTANCE
(Movement)
 This simply means how far across the earth did
a person, idea, or product travel.
 This could be made
longer or shorter by
physical features
(Before and after
Panama Canal).
TIME DISTANCE
(Movement)
 This is the amount of time it takes a person,
idea, or product to travel.
 Modern inventions have shortened time
distances (1800’s TX to California compared
to now to California).
 What about the internet? How quickly can
ideas travel now?
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE
(Movement)
 This refers to the way people view distance.
 When we were younger, some locations
seemed very far…when you get older, it
doesn’t seem as far. Why?
 Studies say when we become familiar with a
place we think it is closer than it actually is
(Grandma’s house).
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