Paris's Five Themes

Location

Paris is a major city located in Ile-de-France, France.  Paris’s coordinates are 48.85 North and 2.35 East. The city is on the river Seine in northern France.  Paris covers 105 square kilometers or 41 square miles of land. It is 280 miles by road southeast of London.  Paris has two islands, the Île Saint-Louis and the bigger Île de la Cité, which is known to be the oldest part of the city.  The river’s mouth of La Manche or the English Channel is estimated about 233 miles downstream from the city.

Place

Physical Characteristics

The islands of Paris, Île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité facilitated river fords and bridges. The Paris Basin is a thick sediment area placed onto a continent under a shallow sea. The basin contains the River Seine water parting above and below the city of Paris and measures 310 miles east-west and 186 miles north-south. Across France, from April to August, weather conditions are usually warm with some rainfall and fall temperatures are a bit lower and the winter months remain mildly colder.

Human or Cultural Characteristics

Many well-known landmarks are in Paris, France.  These landmarks include, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Notre-Dame, the Pantheon, the Louvre, and the Palais des Invalides.  Paris’s population is around 2.2 million. The religion that is most dominant in Paris is Roman Catholicism, followed by Christianity. France has about 63-66% Christians, 23-28% non religious people, and 7-9% Muslims in the general population. Paris has more white collar jobs filled than blue collar and most employment are from private companies.  Paris also mostly speak French and usually do not like to speak English. Most people in Paris are either white or of European origin. Paris is also known for its culture of fashion and design.

Human- Environment Interaction

The Seine River is a source for humans depending on the environment.  The Seine River has helped as a source of water and trading. Humans adapted to the environment by creating paved roads and trying to maintain the land with usefulness to not get flooded by the Seine River.  Based on new technologies such as cars, humans have modified the environment and created air pollution. This pollution not only hurts the environment but can ultimately hurt humans as well.

Movement

Transportation in Paris is by car, bus/trolleybus, walking, subway or elevated, railroad, ferryboat, bicycle, motorcycle, and taxicab. The means of transport from home to work is mostly by car, followed by walking, and lastly taking the bus/trolleybus. Paris’s means of information is though television, newspaper, internet, books, and cellphone/telephone.  Communication can also be through verbally communicating with one another.

Region

Paris in the central position of the agricultural region known as the Paris Basin, and it composes one of eight departments of the Île-de-France administrative region. There are three main parts of historical Paris. The  three main parts are defined by the River Seine. At its center is the Île de la Cité, which is the most religious and temporal authority. The Seine’s Left Bank or Rive Gauche is known traditionally for its intellectual life. Its Right Bank known as Rive Droite contains most of the city’s economic life. Paris is formed around the Île de la Cité at the intersection of two big waterways. The north-south axis goes in between the hills of Montmartre and Belleville over the hillock of la Chapelle, the gateway to gares du Nord et de l'Est and the Saint-Martin canal.

Map of Paris

Paris Metro Map with Main Tourist Attractions, ontheworldmap.com/france/city/paris/paris-metro-map-with-main-tourist-attractions.html.

River Seine

“Paris Takes to Replace London As Banking Capital.” European Business Magazine, 4 Apr. 2019, europeanbusinessmagazine.com/finance/does-paris-have-it-what-it-takes-to-replace-london-as-banking-capital-of-europe/.

Museum in Paris

“Paris Hop On Hop Off Bus.” Paris by CIVITATIS, www.introducingparis.com/paris-museum-pass.