The Five Themes of Geography

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key concepts, terms, and definitions from the lecture notes on geography.

The Five Themes of Geography

A framework for geographic study focusing on Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Regions, and Movement.

Location

Position on Earth’s surface; includes absolute and relative location.

Absolute location

Latitude and longitude (parallels and meridians) or precise street addresses.

Relative location

Location of a place in relation to other places.

Site

Physical characteristics of a place (climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, elevation).

Distribution

Arrangement of something across Earth’s surface.

Density

Frequency with which something occurs in an area.

Concentration

Extent of a feature’s spread over an area; clustered vs dispersed.

Pattern

Geometric or regular arrangement of objects on the landscape.

Place

Associations among phenomena in an area; the sense of a location’s character.

Cultural landscape

All human-induced changes to the surface and biosphere; forms superimposed on the physical landscape by human activity.

Environmental Determinism

Human behavior is strongly affected or controlled by the environment.

Possibilism

The environment sets limits on choices, but people can choose among many options.

Region

Areas with unique characteristics, organized geographically.

Formal region

Visible, measurable homogeneity in characteristics like language, religion, climate, or vegetation.

Functional region

Core area and surrounding hinterland tied by interaction and movement.

Perceptual/Vernacular region

Region defined by people’s perceptions and ideas, not strictly measurable.

Three types of regions

Formal, Functional, Perceptual (Vernacular) regions.

Hierarchy of regions

Regions can be viewed in a hierarchy by scale (local to global).

Region

An area with defined characteristics and a sense of place or interdependence.

Culture

People’s lifestyles, values, beliefs, and traits.

Climate

Long-term average weather of a location.

Vegetation

Plant life of a region.

Soil

Material forming Earth’s surface; nutrient content and erosion affect fertility.

Landforms

Earth’s surface features (geomorphology) that can limit population and land use.

Movement

Interconnections between areas through diffusion, trade, travel, and communication.

Culture Hearths

Origins of civilizations where ideas and innovations originate.

Cultural diffusion

Spread of an innovation or ideology from its source to other cultures.

Expansion diffusion

Idea spreads from a source area while remaining strong at home.

Contagious diffusion

Spread affecting nearly all individuals in an area (e.g., disease, wildfire).

Hierarchical diffusion

Idea leaps from important places to others, bypassing less influential places.

Stimulus diffusion

Spread of an underlying principle adapted to a new culture.

Relocation diffusion

Spread via the physical movement of people.

Time-Space Compression

The shrinking of time and distance between places due to technology and connectivity.

Friction of Distance

Greater distances require more effort to overcome; interactions decay with distance.

Legend

Map key explaining symbols used on a map.

Compass Rose

Symbol indicating cardinal directions on a map.

Map Scale

Ratio between distance on a map and real-world distance.

Scales of Analysis

Different levels of geographic study: global, regional, national, local.

Symbols

Icons on a map representing features or data.

Dot Maps

Maps where dots represent occurrences of a feature to show distribution.

Density

Concentration of something per unit area on a map.

Distribution

Spatial pattern of where something is located across an area.

Cartograms

Maps that resize geographic areas to show data values.

Cartographer

A mapmaker.

Choropleth map

Map showing data as shading or patterns within predefined areas.

Data Aggregation

Grouping data into larger units for analysis.

Elevation

Height above or below a reference level, usually sea level.

Proportional/Graduated Circle Map

Map using circles whose size indicates data magnitude.

Topographic Map

Map showing elevation and terrain via contour lines.

Isoline

Line on a map connecting equal values (e.g., isotherms, isohyets).

Map projections

Methods of representing the curved Earth on a flat map (Mercator, Peters, Goode Homolosine, Polar, Robinson).

Mental (cognitive) map

Personal representation of space in one’s mind.

Reference Map

Map designed to show general geographic information for orientation.

Thematic map

Map designed to show a particular theme or topic (e.g., population).

Spatial patterns

arrangements of phenomena as random, clustered, or dispersed.

Geographic data

Data about locations and attributes: latitude, longitude, census, GPS, GIS, imagery, etc.

Latitude

Distance north or south of the equator.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Prime Meridian

Line at 0° longitude from which east/west measurements are made.

GPS

Global Positioning System; satellites provide precise location data.

GIS

Geographic Information Systems; software for capturing, storing, and analyzing geographic data.

Geovisualizations

Visual representations of spatial data (maps, charts, 3D models).

Aerial Photography

Images captured from aircraft to study the Earth’s surface.

International Date Line

Imaginary line opposite the Prime Meridian where calendar days change.

Time-Distance Decay

Diminishing spatial interaction as time/distance increases.

Regional Identity

Sense of belonging to a geographic region.

Border Zone

Areas where boundaries between regions are contested or blurred.

Contested Boundaries

Borders where authority or control is disputed.

Metropolitan Area

A core city and its surrounding suburbs and towns with high interconnection.

Sense of Place

Feeling of attachment to a place based on experiences and meaning.