My daughter is taking geography and I was struck by the 5 themes of geography! I think they could easily be re-titled the 5 themes of genealogy- 1. Location - where is it? Absolute vs Relative location. How far is it from something else? I think of these questions especially as I watch the migration patterns of my ancestors from Cape Cod to southern and western Mass. 2.Place - what is it like? Physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, people, language, clothing, buildings, music, religion, climate, land shape, plants and animal life 3. Human / Environment Interaction - People can change their environment to meet their needs. (I notice this in photographs of Cape Cod in the middle 1850s. There are no trees in sight. They were all used to build and heat houses and for transportation needs.) build roads, availability of water 4. Movement - People, ideas, information and products move from one place to another by post, telephone, computer, satellite, car, train, boat 5. Region - areas that share common characteristics or features (nothing is more identifiable than New England - CT, MA, RI, ME, NH, VT) landscape, climate, language, political boundaries, religion. Areas can be small - neighborhoods (villages), city, country or large -- several countries like North America