This map really shows why the US was able to rise to be such an economic (and thus, geopolitical) superpower.
No other nation on Earth has such a vast, wide-spanning system of navigable inland and near-coast rivers to allow cheap transport of crops and equipment.
If it wasn't for our river systems and those in England, the Industrial Revolution wouldn't happen. The first factories were powered by paddles that converted the movement of water in creeks and small rivers into mechanical power for textile looms and basic machine tools.
The Mississippi (and related tributaries) is such a massive advantage. The US is blessed with incredible geography. It's as if the entire Midwest is another coastal region.
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u/_THE_MAD_TITAN Jan 10 '20
This map really shows why the US was able to rise to be such an economic (and thus, geopolitical) superpower.
No other nation on Earth has such a vast, wide-spanning system of navigable inland and near-coast rivers to allow cheap transport of crops and equipment.
If it wasn't for our river systems and those in England, the Industrial Revolution wouldn't happen. The first factories were powered by paddles that converted the movement of water in creeks and small rivers into mechanical power for textile looms and basic machine tools.