The 5 Themes of Geography
LOCATION: Geographers begin to study to a place by
identifying its location.
There are two types of
location: absolute locations and relative locations.
Absolute location = latitude and longitude or street
address
Woodworth Middle School is located at 49°19’N latitude
83°11’W longitude
Relative location = where it it located in relationship to
another known place
Dearborn is west of Detroit.
Woodworth Middle School is south of Ford Rd.
Location
EXAMPLE 1:
Geographers can talk about the location of a place by
telling which continent it is on. This is an example of a
relative location because it is telling where it is located
compared to the other continents.
The 5 Themes of Geography
PLACE: Place refers to the physical and human
characteristics of an area. When geographers are
studying place, they want to know what an area is like.
This includes: what is the land like (land and water
features), what the climate and vegetation is like, what
buildings or man-made structures are there, the amount
of people that live there, what is the culture like, and
even what language is spoken there.
PLACE
EXAMPLE 1:
When geographers study the United States, they might
talk about the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Plains,
and the Rocky Mountains as major land features found
there. This is an example of place because these specific
land features are only found in the United States.
The 5 Themes of Geography
REGION: Geographers group areas of the world that
have common characteristics into regions. A region can
be identified by a common climate, a shared physical
feature, a common language, a common national
government, or in many other ways.
REGION
EXAMPLE 1:
The area around Michigan is known at the Great Lakes
Region. It is an example of a region because the states
and Canada that border the lakes all share in using the
water and resources that the lakes provide.
The 5 Themes of Geography
MOVEMENT: Geographers study the way people,
goods, and ideas travel or spread from one place to
another. Geographers look for relationships and try to
find out why these movements happened and how
they affect or affected the people living there.
MOVEMENT
EXAMPLE 1:
Pineapples are brought to Michigan from Hawaii. This
is an example of movement of goods because
pineapples are a fruit that is not able to be grown
naturally in Michigan.
The 5 Themes of Geography
HUMAN-ENVIROMENT INTERACTION (H.E.I):
Geographers study Human-Environment Interaction to
see how people have changed and adapted to live in
their natural surroundings, how they have used their
land and natural resources, and how they have changed
or affected the place they live.
HUMAN-ENVIROMENT INTERACTION (H.E.I):
EXAMPLE 1:
The Panama Canal was dug through the isthmus of
Panama to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific
Ocean. It is an example of H.E.I. because people
changed the land to help make travel easier between
the western and eastern coasts of North and South
America.