How Do the Five Themes of Geography Connect the World?

Geography is the study of the world. It explores the people, the places, and the environment.
There are five basic ideas, or themes. These ideas explain how geography connects the world.
The five themes are location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.
Location answers the question, Where are we? It tells you where one thing is in relation to
another. There are two ways to talk about location. There is absolute location and relative
location.

Absolute Location gives the exact spot on the earth where a place is found. It uses special
instructions called latitude and longitude (global location).
o Moscow, Russia is located 55 north latitude, 37 east longitude.
Relative Location is not an exact location. It tells where a place is by describing places
near it.
Canada is north of the United States.

Place answers the question, What kind of place is it? It tells you what a location is like. Places
have human and physical features. Some physical features are mountains, rivers, soil, beaches,
plants, climate, and animals. Places can change. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or changes in
climate can make lasting changes to a place.

Places also have human features. These features come from the ideas and actions
of people. People make changes to the places. People build roads, bridges, cities,
and grow food.
The thoughts people have about a place come from their experiences. How people
describe a place tells you how they think. It tells you what is important to them.
Think about the human and physical features of your hometown. How do they
shape your life?

Human-environment interaction answers the question, How do people and the environment
affect each other? This theme looks at how people interact with their environments. People use
their environment in different ways. In dry areas, people might build dams to collect large
amounts of water. Then people can use the water during dry periods when there is no rain. In wet
areas, people might use boats to travel from place to place. Some changes people make can cause
problems. Pollution is a problem. Sometimes, weather can harm people. Some areas have floods,
mudslides, or wildfires.

Movement answers the question, How do people, goods, and

ideas get from one place to another? Movement means change.
The study of movement shows how people and goods travel
(import and export). It also explains how people bring new ideas
to other areas of the world. Can you think of ideas that moved
from other areas? How would your life change if you had to
travel by horse or camel?
These themes help us understand how people and places are
connected in the world. Geographers use the five themes to
help them study the world and organize ideas.