Five themes of geography

For a basic list of geography topics, see the List of basic geography topics.

For a more comprehensive list, see the List of geography topics.

The five themes of geography is a educational framework for teaching geography, adopted by the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) and the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in their Joint Committee on Geographic Education in 1984. They were published in the NCGE/AAG publication Guidelines for Geographic Education, Elementary and Secondary Schools. Following this, most modern American geography and social studies K-12 classrooms have adopted the five unifying themes of geography in their discussion of geography. These five themes are location (which can be absolute or relative), place, regions, movement, and human-environment interaction.

The five themes organizational approach was supplanted by the National Geography Standards, a set of 18 standards promulgated in 1994, but they continue to be used as an educational approach.

Location

A map of New York City which shows the absolute location of 524 East 72nd Street

Location, the most basic theme of geography, can be expressed simply as where something is. Location can be either absolute or relative. Absolute location is more useful than relative location, but is harder to obtain. On the other hand, relative location is easily obtained but may be meaningless in many cirsumstances.

Absolute location

Absolute location is the position of something in regards to an absolute scale (like latitude and longitude), which is the same no matter where one is. Road maps normally use absolute location. Although harder to obtain than relative location (usually requiring knowledge of one's exact location to begin with), absolute location (unlike relative location) can be used by anyone, regardless of location.

Relative location

Relative location is the position of something in regards to another place (usually where one currently is). Relative location is usually expressed in the form of directions, such as "go five miles north and head west for two miles". Relative location varies depending on where one is situated (unless it is relative to a fixed point). Although relative location is easy to obtain (usually requiring only the naked eye for a rough observation), the directions would mean nothing to someone who does not know from which starting point the directions are intended for.

Place

The unique skyline of San Francisco makes it distinct from any other location.

Place is a description of the characteristics that make a certain location distinct. Physical characteristics include landforms, vegetation, and climate. Human characteristics include culture, economy, and government. Every place has a unique combination of physical and human characteristics.

For example, the Great Pyramid of Giza has characteristics such as sand, heat, and the presence of a large pyramid. Chichen Itza also has a large pyramid, but its defining characteristics such as its lush vegetation and humid climate make it distinct from the Great Pyramid.

Human-Environment Interaction

The people in this house interact with the environment through the water, the air, and their daily energy needs.

Human-environment interaction is the complex, interwoven bond between humans and nature. It explores humanity's use and modifications to the environment. Examples of human-environment interaction include bridges, dams, and the mining industry.

Movement

File:Railroad1860-2.png

Innovations such as this 1860s railroad in the United States allowed quicker and easier transportation.

Movement is the travel of people, goods or ideas from one location to another. Examples of movement include America's westward expansion, the Information Revolution, and immigration. New devices such as the airplane and the Internet allow physical and ideological goods to be transferred long distances in short time intervals.

An example of movement is the railroad. Before its invention in the mid-1800s, a journey across long distances was tiring and difficult. Westward expansion in the United States was an example of these long, arduous journeys that often required several months to complete and were fraught with danger. However, upon the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, transportation between the East Coast and the West Coast took mere days to complete.

Regions

A region is any group of places that share at least one similar characteristic. Regions can be any size, and one location can be a part of multiple regions. For example, Detroit is a part of the American Midwest, the Michigan coastline, and the temperate zone.

References

• Cayton, Andrew, Elisabeth I. Perry, Linda Reed, and Allan M. Winkler. America: Pathways to the Present. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2007. ISBN 0-13-133510-3.

External link

• The Five Themes of Geography at National Geographic website
• The Five Themes of Geography by Lisa Keys-Mathews, University of North Alabama