The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 32 North America Historical Geography I

CHAPTER 32 North America Historical Geography I Transportation and Urban Location Created by Icon Far from Noun Project The history of the United States , and its current geography , have been deeply influenced by transportation , and nothing has shaped the American map more than water transportation . Water was far and away the most important means of domestic transport until the late , and is still a primary means by which products are shipped into , out of , and around the country . Because of this , water was by far the most important factor determining the location of major American cities , particularly in the eastern half ofthe country . More often than not , the initial economic activity that created these cities was shipping on an ocean , lake , canal , or river . Water traffic was essential to the founding of major American cities in five different regions The Atlantic Coast ( the East Coast ) For years , most American imports and exports came into and went out of the country via the Atlantic Ocean . So , it not coincidental that some of the country most important cities evolved as major ports on the East Coast . Such cities include New York , Boston , Philadelphia , and Baltimore . For years , the American South was far less industrialized than the Northeast , so its Atlantic ports were not nearly as important . Still , many major southern cities began life as an Atlantic 146

NORTH AMERICA HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY I 147 port , such as Miami , Norfolk , The Mississippi Valley ( the Central Coast ) As the interior of the country was opened to settlement , the Mississippi River and its tributaries were the primary means of moving people and goods around the central You can think of the Mississippi Valley as being a sort of Central The primary Mississippi River ports were , Louis , Memphis , and New Orleans . The cities of Pittsburgh , Cincinnati , and Louisville sprang up as ports along the Ohio River ( as did Nashville via the Cumberland River ) and the cities of Kansas City and Omaha began as ports on the Missouri River . The Great Lakes ( the North Coast ) The Great Lakes were integral to the development of the Steel Belt , the United States most important manufacturing region . Several major industrial cities originated as ports on the North Coast , including Chicago , Detroit , Cleveland , Milwaukee , Buffalo , and . The Gulf Coast ( the South Coast ) As mentioned above , the ports of the American South were less active than those of the rest of the country early on , but over time , particularly as trade with Latin America increased , the ports of the Gulf Coast ( or South Coast ) became some of the most important cities in the region . Such cities included Houston ( via Bay ) Mobile , Tampa , and New Orleans ( which overlapped with the Mississippi Valley ) The Pacific Coast ( the West Coast ) Most of the major cities of California , Washington , and Oregon began as ports on the Pacific Ocean , including Los Angeles , San Francisco , Seattle , San Diego , Sacramento ( via the Sacramento River ) and Portland ( via the Columbia River ) An early ambition of the United States was to link together the four coasts ( Atlantic Coast , Mississippi Valley , Great Lakes , and Gulf Coast ) in the eastern half of the country . Of course , the Atlantic is naturally connected to the Gulf , and the Gulf is naturally connected to the Mississippi River . The real trick was finding a way to link , by water passage , the Great Lakes with the rest of the country . For Americans , the biggest geographic problem with the Great Lakes is the way they empty into the Atlantic Ocean . Even after Canada completed the Canal , bypassing Niagara Falls , in 1829 , it was hardly helpful for the , since Canada was still a colony of ' Britain , and the was not yet on particularly good am Wham Cartography by terms with the British . And even if they had been , Lake , connects to the Atlantic via the Lawrence River , which enters the ocean hundreds of miles north of the United States major East Coast cities .

143 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL So , the United States dug its own canal . Completed in 1825 , the Canal cuts across Upstate New York , connecting Lake at Buffalo to the Hudson River at Albany . The Hudson River then flows I to New York City . This shipping route finally connected the economy of the Atlantic Ocean to the economy of the Great Lakes , and is the primary reason why New York became the most important city on the East Coast . The United States then sought to create a direct link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley . It accomplished that in 1848 with the completion of the Illinois Michigan Canal . The I connected Lake Michigan at Chicago with the Illinois River at Morris . The Illinois River then flows south to the Mississippi River near Louis . just as the Canal cemented New York position Lock ofme , as the most important city on the East Coast , the cemented Photo by , on , Chicago position as the most important city in the Midwest . Created by from Noun The important form of transportation in shaping the geography of the United States was the railroad . The first practical steam locomotive was invented in the , and became an important mode of shipping in the United States around the 18605 . Most of the major cities in the eastern half of the United States had already been established by that point , and the railroads of the east largely reinforced the importance of established transportation routes and cities . Chicago , for example , became the most important rail hub in the Midwest , and soon rail traffic would dwarf that ofthe city canal , but the reason that Chicago became the rail hub , rather than , say , Wisconsin , is because the canal had already established Chicago importance . Similarly , as railroads decreased the importance of the Canal , most of the rail traffic connecting the Steel Belt to the East Coast still passed through cities that became important because of the canal cities like Buffalo , Rochester , Albany , and , of course , New York City . That said , a few eastern cities owe their importance to the railroad , and one major example is Atlanta . Since it was difficult to build railroads across the , many rail lines went around the mountains . Since Atlanta is located at the southern tip of the , almost all major rail lines in the South passed through there , making Atlanta the most important southern city , as it remains today . It was a different story in the American West . West of Kansas City and Omaha , the climate becomes quite dry , which means there are few rivers that carry enough water to be of much use for shipping . So , a lot

NORTH AMERICA HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY I 149 of Western cities got their start because they were located along a major rail route . Dallas , Albuquerque , Denver , Phoenix , and Salt Lake City are all cities that became prominent once the railroad arrived . Finally , railroads reinforced the importance of three West Coast cities . The first railroads to reach the Pacific Ocean terminated at San , Los Angeles , and Seattle . It is not a coincidence that the first three Pacific ports to be connected by rail to the eastern are today the three largest metropolitan areas on the West Coast . Cleaned by khan Noun Unlike and railroads , highways had little to do with creating large urban areas . For the most part , they simply reinforced the existing geography of the United States . They did , however , reshape the internal geography of American cities . The reason why highways had such little impact on shaping the national map of the United States is because they came along relatively late , well after the major urban areas were . Prior to the , outside of cities , highways were rare , poorly maintained , and usually unmarked . Almost all passenger and freight transport was still done by water and rail . To drive from Chicago to Los Angeles , or even from Chicago to Louis , took a very long time , and was usually done only by adventurous spirits . Like highways , airlines had little to do with reorganizing the geography of the country , although they certainly aided in the development of such cities as Las Vegas , Honolulu , and Miami . Did You Know ?

The name Chicago is derived from , the French version of the Native American word , a plant commonly known as a ramp or leek . These garlicky , plants once grew in abundance along Chicago Transportation , lakefront . Boyd Shearer on .

150 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY , Mitch . 2014 . Canal Lock . Generic ( Kelly . 2020 . and Urban Location . College of GIS class . Shearer , Boyd . 2017 . Transportation at Night . Generic (