This document discusses the key concepts and tools used in physical geography. It covers the five themes of geography: location, place, region, human-environment interaction, and movement. Geographers use various tools to study these themes, including maps, globes, aerial photography, satellite imaging, and geographic information systems. Maps come in different types and projections and help geographers understand the relationships between physical features and human activities on Earth.

1. Physical Geography
Looking at the Earth
Geography involves the study of places: their
locations, their characteristics, and how humans
use and move around them.
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2. SECTION 1 The Five Themes of Geography
SECTION 2 The Geographer’s Tools
Physical Geography
Looking at the Earth
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3. Section 1
The Five Themes of
Geography
• Geographers view the world in terms of the
use of space.
• Geographers study the world by looking at
location, place, region, movement, and
human-environment interaction.
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4. The Geographer’s Perspective
Geographers and Historians
• Historians look at events over time
• Geographers look at:
- use of space on Earth
- interactions that take place there
- patterns and connections between people and
land
• Geography is the study of the distribution and
interaction of:
- physical features on Earth
- human features on Earth
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Continued . . .
The Five Themes of
Geography
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5. SECTION
1
Methods of Geography
• Geographers use a variety of tools:
- maps
- photographs
- charts, graphs, tables
- scale models
- five themes of geography
continued The Geographer’s Perspective
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6. Theme: Location
Where is it?
• Absolute location—exact place where a
geographic feature is found
• Relative location—location of a place compared to
places around it
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Continued . . .
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7. SECTION
1
Absolute Location
• Earth is divided into two equal halves, vertically and
horizontally
• Each vertical and horizontal half is called a
hemisphere
• An imaginary line, the Equator, divides north and
south halves
• Another imaginary line, the Prime Meridian, divides
east and west
continued Theme: Location
Continued . . .
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8. SECTION
1
Latitude Lines
• Geographers use latitude lines to locate places
north and south
• Latitude—imaginary lines that run parallel to the
equator
continued Theme: Location
Continued . . .
Longitude Lines
• Geographers use longitude lines to mark positions
east and west
• Longitude—imaginary lines that go over the poles
• Where latitude and longitude lines cross is the
absolute location
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9. SECTION
1
Relative Location
• How a place is related to its surrounding
environment
continued Theme: Location
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10. Theme: Place
What is it Like?
• Place includes physical features and cultural
characteristics:
- physical features include climate, landforms,
vegetation
- cultural characteristics include dams, highways,
houses
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11. Theme: Region
How are Places Similar or Different?
• A region is an area united by similar characteristics
• Unifying characteristics—physical, political,
economic, cultural
• Three types of regions:
- formal
- functional
- perceptual
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Continued . . .
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12. SECTION
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Formal Regions
• Defined by a limited number of related
characteristics
• Formal regions of the world:
- The United States and Canada
- Latin America
- Europe
- Russia and the Republics
- Africa
- Southwest Asia
- South Asia
- East Asia
- Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica
continued Theme: Region
Continued . . .
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13. SECTION
1
Functional Regions
• Organized around interactions and connections
between places
• Example: a city and its suburbs are connected
through human movement
continued Theme: Region
Perceptual Regions
• Region with characteristics people perceive in much
the same way
• Example: the American Midwest
• Sometimes perceptions differ: Does Midwest begin
in Ohio or Illinois?
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14. Theme: Human-Environment Interaction
How Do People Relate to the Physical
World?
• A relationship exists between people and their
environment
• People use and change the environment to meet
their needs
• People adapt to environmental conditions they
cannot change
• Often, people in similar environments adapt in
different ways
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15. Theme: Movement
How Do People, Goods, and Ideas Get from
One Place to Another?
• Geographers use three types of distance to analyze
movement:
- linear distance
- time distance
- psychological distance
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Linear Distance and Time Distance
• Linear distance—how far a person, product, or idea
travels
• Time distance—how long it takes for person,
product, idea to travel
Continued . . .
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16. SECTION
1
Psychological Distance
• Refers to the way people perceive distance
• Example: unfamiliar places may seem farther away
than familiar ones
continued Theme: Movement
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17. Section 2
The Geographer’s Tools
• Geographers use two- and three-dimensional
tools to learn about the earth.
• Geographers use computer-assisted
technology to study the use of the earth’s
surface.
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18. Maps and Globes
Visualizing Earth
• Oldest known map: Babylonian clay tablet, circa
500 B.C.
• Maps show locations of places, landforms, bodies
of water
The Geographer’s Tools
SECTION
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Continued . . .
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19. SECTION
2
Two or Three Dimensions
• Globe—a three-dimensional representation (a
sphere) of Earth
• Map—a two-dimensional graphic representation of
Earth’s surface
• Cartographer (mapmaker) tries to accurately
reflect earth’s surface
• Map projection—way of showing Earth’s curved
surface on a flat map
continued Maps and Globes
Continued . . .
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20. SECTION
2
Types of Maps
• Three types of maps: general reference,
thematic, navigational
• A topographic map is one kind of general
reference map
• Topographic map—shows natural and man-made
features of earth
• Thematic map—shows specific data such as
climate, population density
• A navigation map is used by sailors, pilots
continued Maps and Globes
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21. The Science of Mapmaking
Surveying
• Surveyors observe, measure, record what they see
in a specific area
• Remote sensing, gathering geographic data from a
distance, includes:
- aerial photography
- satellite imaging
The Geographer’s Tool
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Continued . . .
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22. SECTION
2
Satellites
• Best known satellites are Landsat and GOES
• Landsat is a series of satellites; can scan entire
planet in 16 days
• Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite
(GOES):
- orbits in sync with Earth’s rotation
- gathers images of atmospheric conditions
continued The Science of Mapmaking
Continued . . .
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23. SECTION
2
Geographic Information Systems
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a
digital geographic database
• Combines and displays information from many
sources
continued The Science of Mapmaking
Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Uses series of 24 Navstar satellites to beam
information to Earth
• Hand-held GPS receivers on Earth display exact
position
• GPS used by explorers, sailors, drivers; also used
to track animals
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