The Five Themes of Geography

The Five Themes of Geography

Cape Town, South Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_W4EWVNO0&feature=fvsr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_W4EWVNO0&feature=fvsr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_W4EWVNO0&feature=fvsr


1. LOCATION: Most geographic studies begin with

learning the location of a place. Location can be absolute or

relative.


Relative location describes a place with respect to its

environment and its connection to other places.


Relative Location: South Africa is located at the southern most tip of Africa. South Africa shares a border with Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Cape Town is a city in South Africa located at the southern most point of the country in the Western

Cape State.


Absolute location provides a definite reference to locate a place. The reference can be latitude and longitude or

a street address.


Absolute Location: Cape Town, South Africa is located 33° 55', south (latitude) of the

equator and 18° 27', east of the meridian (longitude).


2. PLACE: Place describes the human and physical characteristics

of a location.


Human Characteristics: Human-designed cultural features of a place; land use, architecture,

forms of livelihood, religion, food, transportation, and

communication networks.


Human Characteristics: Cape Town was founded by the Dutch. Dutch cultural can still be seen in

the architecture.

African tribal and Dutch culture have blended in Cape Town's food and religion. Both cultures still

exist in the cities livelihoods.


Physical Characteristics: mountains, rivers, beaches,

animal life, and plant life


Physical Characteristics: Mountains include Table Mountain. Beaches include Camp's Bay, Clifton, and Hout Bay. Cape Town's diverse animal life includes Penguins and Sharks. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate

with an abundance of plant life.


3. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: How humans adapt to and modify the environment. Humans shape the landscape

through their interaction with the land; this has both positive and

negative effects on the environment.


Human-Environment Interaction: Positive effect on the land has been the

cultivation of vineyards and farms.

Negative effect on the land has been that many native animal species have been

forced to relocate.


4. MOVEMENT: Humans move, a lot! In addition, ideas, fads, goods, resources, and communication all

travel distances. This theme studies movement and migration

across the planet.


Movement: The KhoSan people of Northern Africa were the first people in Southern Africa, 2,000 BC. Later the Bantu tribes of Northern and Western Africa migrated to the Cape, 4th Century

AD. These tribes included the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, and Tswana.


Movement: The Dutch began migrating to Cape Town in 1652. These Dutch farmers were called Boers. Later they developed the Afrikaans language and now this large population in Cape Town is called Afrikaners. The Dutch migration is still widely

visible in all aspects of culture in the Cape, from food to architecture.


5. REGION: Defined by their connections.

Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East;" they have no formal boundaries but are understood in our

mental maps of the world.


Vernacular Region: Cape Town is part of the Western Cape Provence. It is also part of the region of Southern Africa.

The Five Themes of Geography

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