The five geographic themes of France

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The geography of the region of France

Introduction

Located in Europe, France is a country that boasts of rich food, culture, people, economy, living standards. All these qualities have made the country one of the most successful tourist’s destinations in the world. This is owed to its history that has impacted on the way the present society is run. One of the attributes that the country is known for is its geographic arrangement. This arrangement is diverse in that it covers the different locations in the country. France was formed over 2500years ago making it one of the oldest republics in the world. The geography of the country made it a target of its neighbors. This has resulted into the migration into different parts of the nation (Kasperson, and Julian, p. 124).

The focus of this paper is to analyze the five geographic themes of France. The themes in this case are location, place, movement, human interaction and region. The paper will later provide a concluding paragraph summarizing the contents of the paper.

Location

France primarily located in Western Europe me151 square km. The country is divided into the North and South. Both regions have different qualities making them adapt different lifestyle and cultures. The Northern part of France is known for its flat landscape and humid weather. The South on the other hand, is hilly and considerably warm making it a hub for cultivation (Ruck, p. 145). France is the number one producer of agricultural products in the whole of Europe. Some of the exports range from sugar, what and vineyards. This has impacted on the economy in that they are famous for their wines. The country neighbors countries like Spain, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland and Monaco. The capital city of France is Paris which is the second largest city in Europe. The population of the country was recorded to be above 6, 000,000 in 2005. This is attributed to the low birth and death rate that maintains the consistency of the population (Gibbons, p. 198).

Place

France provides a diverse physical arrangement making it the largest country in Western Europe. This consists of mountains, rivers beaches, forestry and landscapes. One of the monumental features that the country is known for is its association with the Alps. The Alps are mountains that cover a wide range of a majority of the countries in Europe. The mountains are mostly concentrated in Switzerland which takes up most of the mountain ranges. France takes up a considerably large percentage of the mountains which are concentrated in the central part of the country (Kasperson, and Julian, p. 120).

Physical features can be both man made and natural. France is also home to the main land regions that are nine in number. Most of their natural features are complemented with modern buildings and infrastructure. One of the beautiful landscapes located in Normandy which consists of the hills and rivers along the northwestern coast. These features are home to small traditional villages that live a subsistence type of lifestyle. The area is known for its fishing activities which contribute to the large number of fish that is distributed to the rest of the country. The Normandy hills are also known for their whether which is suitable for the production of cheese and butter (Gibbons, p. 188).

Movement

France has experienced a number of movements which occurred before the country became a sovereign state. Most of the immigrants of the country are Latin, German, Celtic and Slavic orientation. The different groups were able to move into the country and interact so as to form a unified country. This has removed the ethnic backgrounds of the original immigrants eliminating the stigma that is always experienced amongst different groups. Most of the natives emigrated from their respective countries due to search for new land and settlement. Most of the resettlement occurred during the 1200s. This was predominantly as a result of the lack of resources in their countries of origin (Kasperson, and Julian, p. 231).

France took part in a number of colonization’s and was colonized as a result. At one point, the country was under the Roman rule which influenced the Italian immigration to the country. The French have also immigrated to other countries due to differences between different French communities. They migrated to countries like England due to the differences between the Catholics and Protestants (Gibbons, p. 108).A portion of the French settled in England because the country was more receptive to their catholic background. The country also immigrated to Africa during the scramble of Africa colonizing African countries such as Senegal, Morocco and Mauritius. France has played a significant role in the formation of the new Americas. This was evident in Canada that has a large population of French natives in the areas of Quebec.

Human environment interaction

Human interaction is defined by the way the members of the society interact with each other and the environment. The French are a social country which is reflective of their culture. Most of their cultures encourage interaction between members of the society (Ruck, p. 140). The country is divided into different classes which are relative to most of their countries of origin. The social class is displayed through the types of schools the children attend, social clubs and posh neighborhoods. Society is classified according to facilities which are in the form of the highest quality vice-versa. Despite the existence of different social classes, the country’s economy is fairly strong. This is owed to the different industries that the country has. The living standards of the society are thus high in that the country has a health plan that caters for the country as a whole (Ruck, p. 149).

France has a wide range of physical features which require an enormous amount of responsibility in terms of maintenance. The country values the environment and its rate of the sustainability of its resources. France is one of the most developed countries in the world. This has made the country exposed to the destruction of the environment due to the increased rate of urbanization. The country is registered as one of the countries that belong to the G8. It thus plays a significant role in enforcing policies that affect the environment and its sustainability. Despite the high rate of urbanization, the country has managed to maintain the natural environment by minimizing the human activities (Gibbons, p. 195).

Region

As stated earlier, France is an ideal tourist attraction on its own. The countries rich culture is widely impacted by way of life. The French are known for a number of exports both social and cultural. The official religion is Christianity which makes up 92 percent of the population. A small percentage practice Islam and Judaism. The country is known for their policies that encourage religions to remain neutral on their practice in public places. This has made the interaction more liberal thus eliminating social conflicts. The population is predominantly Caucasian making the country French speaking. France was one of the countries that played significance in the scramble for Africa. This has impacted on the social arrangement of the country in that a majority of the immigrants have come from their former colonies. This makes up for the black percentage of the population.

The social life of the country is known all over the world. The country is known for its fashion industry due to the number of successful fashion designers. This has contributed immensely to the growth of the economy. France also has a thriving perfume industry which complements the fashion industry. Most of these activities are felt in the capital Paris which has in turn earned itself the fashion capital of the world (Ruck, p. 145).

Last but not least is the food that the nation has produced over the years. France is famous for its world class dishes some of which have been incorporate into most of the culinary schools around the world. The food ranges for their deserts to the main dishes which are served in courses. The country is home to most of the Michelin chefs whose careers are based on the traditional French dining. This has in turn been adopted by a high percentage of the world’s restaurants (Gibbons, p. 235).

In conclusion, France is one of the most successful countries in the world in all aspects of life. This is owed to their culture, which was influenced by the number of settlements that the country has experienced. The geographic structure of the nation is one of the main attributes that has contributed to this factor. The five geographic themes are divided into location, place, movement, human environmental interaction and region. These themes display the geographic nature of the country. The country has made tremendous strides in the development of these individual themes. Through the analysis of the five themes, the individuals are able to learn about the history of a country from the time of its formation to present day.

Works cited

Gibbons, Rachel. Exploring History 1400-1900: An Anthology of Primary Sources. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.

Kasperson, Roger E, and Julian V. Minghi. The Structure of Political Geography. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print.

Ruck, Adam. Fodor’s Exploring France. New York: Fodor’s Travel Pub, 2005. Print.