5 Themes of Geography Vocabulary

Relative Location

The location of a place in relation or compared to other locations.

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Region

An area that is defined by a unifying physical or human characteristic. Examples: Midwest or The Rocky Mountain Region

Equator

An imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

Hemisphere

Half of the Earth Examples: Northern and Southern Hemispheres Eastern and Western Hemispheres

5 Themes of Geography

MR. LIP Movement Region Location Human Environment Interaction Place

Environment

The area surrounding a location including the water, land, climate, plant-life, animal-life, and people.

Human Environment Interaction

The changes humans make to their environment and how humans adapt to the environment

Longitude

The distance that is measured east to west of the Prime Meridian; the lines are called meridian and are drawn from north to south.

Latitude

The distance that is measured north and south of the equator; the lines are called parallels and are drawn from east to west.

Absolute Location

The exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates (longitude/latitude) or address of the place.

Place

The specific human and physical features of a location. Example: There are many oil fields in the Middle East (human) and the Middle East is made up of mostly desert (desert).

Geography

The study of the Earth's surface, the organisms that populate it, and their interaction with the environment.

Movement

The way people, products, information and ideas move from place to place.