Location, Places, and Regions

5 themes of Geography - Location

Location

• Location is a particular position or place on the Earth

• There are two types of location - absolute location and relative location

Absolute Location

• Refers to an exact spot on the planet

• Examples of absolute location include:

• Geographic coordinates (based on distance from the Equator and Prime Meridian)

• Addresses

Equator

• The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into northern and southern halves

• Geographic coordinates are measured in degrees North (°N) or South (°S) of the Equator

Prime Meridian

• The Prime Meridian is an imaginary line that divides the world into Eastern and Western halves

• Geographic coordinates are measured in degrees East (°E) and West (°W) of the Prime Meridian

Landmarks around the world

• pay attention to the geographic coordinates of the following landmarks, as they will be used to answer some questions about location

• When figuring out a place absolute location, it is like putting things in alphabetical order.  Start with the first number, if they're the same, move to the next number and so on until there is a difference that you can sort.

Sydney Opera House

• GPO Box 4274 2001, Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW, Australia

• 33°51'31"S 151°12'51"E

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20500

38°53'52"N 77°02'11"W

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

• Av. de Concha Espina, 1, 28036, Madrid, Spain

• 40.45306°N 3.68835°W

Multiple Select

Which of the following locations are located North of the Equator (check all that apply)?

Multiple Choice

Which of these locations is farthest from the Equator?

• 22°54′43″S 43°13′48″W

• 19°18′11″N 99°09′02″W

• 48°13′7″N 11°37′29″E

• 51°36′16″N 0°03′59″W

Multiple Select

Which of the following landmarks are not located in the Western hemisphere (check all that apply)?

Multiple Choice

Which of the coordinates is closest to the Prime Meridian?

• 40°49′45″N 73°55′35″W

• 48°50′29″N 2°15′11″E

• 45.478080°N 9.12400°E

• 51°28′54″N 0°11′28″W

Relative Location

• An approximate location that is relative to other locations and places

• Descriptions such as "nearby", "around the corner from", "down the street from", "North/South/East/West of" all describe relative location

Open Ended

Give a relative location for Chiddix Junior High School.

Multiple Select

Which of the following states are located West of the Mississippi River (check all that apply)?

• California

• Arkansas

• Illinois

• Virginia