PHYSICAL & HUMAN GEOGRAPHY EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY Geography is the study of the earth & of the ways people live and work on it 5 Themes of Geography 1. Location 2. Place 3. Regions 4. Movement 5. Human-Environment Interaction A. Location helps you to position yourself in space & to develop an awareness of the world around you B. 2 types of location: 1. Absolute Location Exact location of a place on the earths surface 2. Relative Location Position of a place in relation to other places A. Place Includes features & characteristics that give an area its own identity or personality Can be physical characteristics (climate, plants, etc.) or human characteristics (population, language, etc.) A. Regions Areas that share one or more common characteristics Can be defined by physical features (type of land) or human features (religion) 1. Formal regions areas in which certain characteristics are found throughout the area (example a country uses the same laws and government so they are a formal political region) 2. Functional regions a central place and the surrounding areas affected by that place (example Hazleton Area) 3. Perceptual regions defined by peoples feelings and attitudes towards an area (example the South, the Midwest) Places do not exist in isolation People will constantly be looking for different places to live/work/play A. Human systems how people have shaped our world B. The continual movement of goods, people, & ideas 1. Transportation the movement of goods & people 2. Communication the movement of ideas & information C. Human/environment interaction how & why people change their surroundings D. People respond to their environment in 2 ways: 1. adapt adjust to the environment 2. modify change the environment