What are the 5 Themes of Geography

In 1994, the National Geography Standards - a set of 18 standards meant to guide students and teachers of geography, was introduced in the United States of America. It was basically used to determine what students need to know about this subject. The new model was preceded by the five themes of geography (or the five-theme organizational approach) as the model for geographical studies. Even though the 5-theme organizational approach is not officially in use today, educational institutes continue to use it to teach basics of the subject. Understanding what are these themes and how they are used can help you strengthen your basics and to further studies in the subject.

5 Themes of Geography and What They Mean

In 1984, the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers adopted the educational model - referred to as the '5 themes of geography'. Directed at the teachers, this education model was basically a guide for them to help them understand what they ought to teach their students when it comes to this discipline of Earth science. Even though it was directed at teachers, there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that it was equally (or perhaps even more) helpful for the students. The five themes which were supposed to be taken into consideration according to this model were location, place, human-environment interaction, movement and region. Going through the definition and examples of these five themes will help you get a better understanding of each of them.

Location
The 'location' of a place can help in determining where the place is - on the basis of which further evaluation of the said place can be made. This theme is divided into two types - 'specific location' and 'general location'. Specific location, also referred to as the absolute location, is determined by the exact address of the place or on the basis its longitude and latitude. On the other hand, the general location - also known as relative location, gives random location of a place. The best example of specific location is address of house given as 'at XYZ street in California' or 'at 32°32' North 114°08' West' and the best example of general location is the address of house given as 'at five minutes from the airport' or 'to the northwest of California'.

Place
The 'place' can either be a structure or a piece of land on which the said structure is located. The description of a place helps you differentiate it from other places, and that makes this theme very important. As is in case of previous theme, even this theme is divided into two categories - 'physical characteristics' and 'human characteristics'. While physical characteristics are related to physical features of the region (for e.g. the Amazon rain-forests or Niagara waterfall), human characteristics are related to human induced changes in the surroundings (for e.g. the pyramids of Egypt or the Golden Gate bridge.)

Human-Environment Interaction
The relationship between human and environment forms the third theme of geographical studies. In any given surroundings, three different types of 'interaction' are observed between humans and environment - 'adaptation' (wherein humans adapt to the said environment), 'modification' (wherein humans modify the environment to suit themselves) and 'dependence' (wherein humans are dependent on environment to a significant extent.) The migration of tribes living in upper Himalayas of the Indian subcontinent to lesser Himalayas during winter is an apt example of adaptation. The reclamation of land from sea in India and Netherlands is the best example of modification. Similarly, the dependence of people of Asia on south-west monsoons for agricultural practice is the best example of dependence on environment.

Movement
With the world becoming a global village, the 'movement' of people, goods and information has become one of the most important theme among the 5 themes of geography. One of the simplest theme to understand, movement is also divided into two types - 'transportation' and 'communication'. While human transportation and import/export of goods has been in the picture for a long time, the flow of information and ideas by means of mass communication is a relatively new inclusion.

Region
One of the most important among the five themes, 'region' refers t an area which is bound by one or more unique factors. These factor can be anything - ranging from language and religion to weather and vegetation. This theme is divided into three types - 'formal region' on the basis of administrative boundary, 'functional region' on the basis of function and 'vernacular region' on the basis of people's perception. The United States of America as a nation is an apt example of formal region, the service area of Dish Network is an apt example of functional region and the term 'Middle East' - referring to the area around the eastern Mediterranean, is the best example of vernacular region. That being said regions determined on the basis of physical properties - such as the Great Lakes Region or the Himalayan mountain range, also come under formal region.

The five-theme organizational approach which continues to form the basics of geographical studies not just in the United States but, all over the world. If you spend a minute pondering on the importance of geography, you would realize the importance of these themes in geographical studies. This information must have helped you to understand what are the five concepts that you need to take into consideration when studying (..or teaching) geography of the Earth.