This document defines and provides examples of key geographic concepts including absolute and relative location, physical and human characteristics, how people interact with their environment, movement within and between places, and different types of regions. It uses the United States as a context for students to think about examples of these geographic concepts. Key points covered include that absolute location uses a grid of latitude and longitude while relative location describes where a place is in relation to others, and that regions can be defined by shared directional, political, physical, agricultural, economic or cultural traits.

2.  Where is it?
 Why is it there?
 Two types of
“Location”
 Absolute
 Relative

3.  Absolute location is a
specific place on the
Earth’s surface
 Uses a grid system
 Latitude and longitude
 The absolute location of a
state or country is
determined by the
absolute location of its
capital city

4.  Look in the index of your atlas to find the
latitude and longitude of Washington D.C.
 What is the absolute location?

5.  Relative location is
where a place is in
relation to another
place
 Uses directional words
 North, south, east, west,
northwest, northeast,
southwest, southeast
 These are known as
cardinal and
intermediate directions

6.  Use your atlas
to figure out
what is north,
south, east,
and west of
the United
States of
America
 Example: North
America is north of
South America

7.  These are the physical features that
define a place
 Landforms
 Bodies of Water
 Land cover/
vegetation
 Climate
 Animals

8.  Try to think of
three physical
characteristics
in the U.S.
 Here are some
examples:
Niagara Falls Bald Eagle
Bryce CanyonSnow

9.  These are the cultural similarities that define a place
 People
 Culture
▪ Examples: art, clothing,
traditions, celebrations,
literature, sports
 Language
 Religion
 Buildings
 Man-made structures
 Cities
 History

10.  Try to think of three
human characteristics in
the U.S.
 Here are some examples: American Football
New York CityMount Rushmore

11. People interact with their environment by:
 Adapting to their environment
 Modifying their environment
 Depending on their environment

12.  Try to think of three ways
Americans interact with the
environment
 Here are some examples:
Fishing
Raising Cattle
Winter Clothing

13.  The mobility of people,
goods, and ideas, and the
migration of animals
 This includes the
migration of people,
transportation, and
technology used to moved
ideas
 How places are linked to
one another and the world
 This does not include body
movements, like jumping
jacks

14.  What are some examples of movement within
the U.S.?
 What are some examples of movement into
and going out of the U.S.?
 Here are some examples:
Goods are often
transported by truck
Many ideas are moved
through computers
A lot of people use cars
to get from place to
place

15.  Regions are defined by what
places have in common
 Directional Regions
 Political Regions
▪ Note: State and country
boundaries are political
 Physical Regions
▪ This includes landforms,
bodies of water, land
cover/vegetation, and
climate
 Agricultural Regions
 Economic Regions
 Cultural Regions

16.  Try to come up with three examples of
regions in the U.S.
 Here are some examples:
Alaska is a
political region
Much of Florida
is coastal, a
physical regionA lot of land in the
Midwestern U.S. is part of
an agricultural region